The Ministry of Defence has recently written to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) stating that producers of movies or web series based on the Army should take a no-objection certificate (NoC) before telecasting them.
The decision has been taken after several complaints were received about the depiction of the Indian Army in the web series XXX Uncensored (Season – 2), for which an FIR was filed against the producer Ekta Kapoor.
A letter intimating of the decision was addressed to the Regional Officer, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and was released on July 27, 2020. The letter issued by MoD particularly mentions that Ekta Kapoor’s ‘XXX Uncensored (season-2)’ depicted Indian Army Personnel and Military Uniform in distorted manner. The Defence Ministry further reiterated that a no-objection certificate will ensure that movies, which show the armed forces in a bad light, can be prevented from being telecast.
“In some of the web series like ‘Code M’ on Zee 5 and ‘XXX’ on ALT Balaji, scenes related to the Army are far from reality and present a distorted image of the armed forces,” an Army source said.
“Some concerned citizens and ex-servicemen associations have even lodged FIR against ALT Balaji seeking legal action against the producer and the OTT platform. This (letter) has been done to curtail the incidents, which distort the image of Defence forces and hurt the sentiments of Defence personnel and veterans,” the source further added.
The Ministry of Defence has also communicated about the same to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for consideration.
Earlier, an FIR was registered against Producer Ekta Kapoor and others for hurting religious sentiments, insulting army personnel, and improper use of the national emblem in the web series ‘XXX’ streaming on ALTBalaji by one Neeraj Yagnik. As per police, the FIR had been lodged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and IT act at the Annapurna police station.
