Ekta Kapoor releases a statement dissociating herself and her mother from ALTT- clearing that they left the platform in June 2021.
Ekta Kapoor: In a major effort to control the online content sphere, the Indian government made a major decision to ban 25 OTT apps and websites that were used to stream content that is considered to be obscene. One of the platforms that had emerged in this ban is ALTT, a platform that used to go by the name ALTBalaji in the past, which was co-founded by television czarina Ekta Kapoor.
But with the news on the ban spreading across the paper, also spread rumours and false information on the activities of Ekta Kapoor to work with ALTT. Taking to Instagram, Ekta made an official statement where she made it clear that she and her mother, Shobha Kapoor, had severed all ties with ALTT way back in June 2021. The creator distanced herself from the debatable application, claiming that she no longer has anything to do with the platform either directly or indirectly.
Ekta Kapoor speaks up on the ban of ALTT
As a couple of media houses, such as ALTT and others, featured in the list of banned apps, doubts started to emerge on whether Ekta Kapoor had a role to play in the functioning of the platform. The experienced producer made a strong and detailed statement on social media, trying to dispel all the rumors in one way or another.
Her statement started by saying that there have been media reports circulating that the authorities disabled ALTT. But untrue to such media reports, neither Ms. Ekta Kapoor nor Mrs. Shobha Kapoor is related to ALTT in any manner whatsoever, and they had resigned from their association with ALTT long way back in June 2021.
She would then proceed to categorically distance herself from or her mother from having any involvement in the present-day affairs of the platform. She also encouraged media stations to exercise proper reporting by insisting that facts must be verified by cross-checking.
Ekta ended her speech by reminding the industry that her production house would continue to be ethical:
“Balaji Telefilms Limited is fully compliant with all applicable laws and continues to operate its business with the highest standards of corporate governance.”
She concluded the note with a powerful but short closing of To whomsoever it may concern.
Obscene OTT Content Gets a Government Clampdown
The move is by the government after complaints have been raised of the nature of the content that is being exchanged through some of the lesser-known OTT platforms. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has, jointly with several other government agencies, banned the use of 25 OTT apps and the use of the site.
The applications have names such as ULLU, Desiflix, Big Shots App, Gulab App, Mojflix, and HotX VIP, among others. It was discovered that these sites are showing explicit, vulgar, and in certain cases, pornographic materials with no story plot/or social impact.
Authorities disclosed that the banned material was mostly based on sexual insinuations, titillating scenes, and excessively obscene material that had trespassed the limits of decent online entertainment. Most of these apps are said to have disregarded the earlier warnings raised by the authorities and were even reported to have continued vying in the market with their new domain names following a ban they had received earlier in the month of March 2024.
It came after a lot of complaints by citizens, including a formal objection by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The commission sounded an alarm on the possible effects such content would have on the minors, hence, very drastic action by the government.
Legal Reasons for the Ban
In order to implement the crackdown, the Ministry issued the takedown notice as per the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021. This ruling was necessitated by the necessity to save digital decency, protect children as well, and enforce content control in a heavily liberalized OTT space.
The authorities indicate that most of these platforms were still broadcasting objectionable content even after repeated warnings. In other instances, platforms would go to the extent of creating new websites or applications with different brand names in an attempt to avoid the ban. Such open scorn of the law prompted government establishment action.
ULLU had to Pull Down the House Arrest Web Series Voluntarily
In contrast, the majority of platforms refused cooperation, but previously, one of the popular OTT services called ULLU demonstrated the signs of being compliant. ULLU has voluntarily pulled off a disputable web series named House Arrest after the Ministry earlier this year intervened.
But their compliance did not prevent them against the recent crackdown because they continued violating.
What Ekta Kapoor thinks about bold Content
Ekta Kapoor has already talked about her experience of bold and experimental content, even though she has withdrawn from ALTT. When interviewing journalist Faye D Во за do you have some memories of the criticism and backlash you got when you were running ALTBalaji?
Ekta confessed: I was offending a brand new person every day. She made further clarifications by explaining how she always wanted to bring out women in various ways through the traditional or modern perspective. She justified the mixed representation of women and said:
“Everyone was telling me that making women wear sarees is regressive. I think it is equally progressive. Why not celebrate women in costumes the same way we celebrate them in sarees?”
This positioning demonstrated her positioning that she wanted to bring on board characters of diverse lifestyles, which were representative of both the established and the radical. But such creative freedom is known to have its fair share of critics, too, which she also admits.
The Implications This Has on the OTT Industry
This clampdown has made a strong statement within the OTT content business in India. The dynamic and wide response of the government indicates the policy of zero tolerance for offensive and non-compliant content. It also creates a precedent that even less well-known platforms have to follow strict regulations.
Minor OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar are not much affected, but the pressure highlights the unregulated milieu that smaller platforms have established. Such outlets transcend the limits of creative accountability, and the emphasis is on shock rather than the narrative.
This also supports the increasing argument for high self-regulation of OTT services. With all the digital content exponentially expanding, the entertainment industry faces the burden to juggle legal, moral, and creative freedom.
Final Thoughts
With the changing digital world comes the problems of maintaining the content standards. The recent ban on OTT supports the necessity of having ethically created content and why accountability is necessary. It is very important that such a misunderstanding be tackled by public figures such as Ekta Kapoor as soon as possible, and this early statement really accomplished this task.
With this clarification, Ekta Kapoor has not only saved her own personal and professional face but has sent a message to the industry that honesty and doing things legitimately can never be compromised, certainly in these extremely watchful days of the digital age.
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