On March 14 last year, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) had blocked 18 OTT platforms for their “obscene, vulgar, and, in some instances, pornographic content”.
A viral clip from a reality show hosted on an OTT (Over The Top) platform has triggered widespread outrage on social media for its explicit content, with Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asking why the streaming app has not yet been banned by the Centre.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey assured that action would be taken against the show.
On March 14 last year, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) had blocked 18 OTT platforms for their “obscene, vulgar, and, in some instances, pornographic content”.
Sharing the nearly two-minute clip from OTT web series ‘House Arrest’ – hosted by former Bigg Boss contestant Ajaz Khan and available on ‘ULLU’ platform – on X on Thursday, Ms Chaturvedi claimed she has repeatedly flagged the vulgar content on such apps to the government but is yet to get a response.
“I have raised this in the standing committee that apps such as this, namely, Ullu App and Alt Balaji have managed to escape the ban by I&B ministry on apps for obscene content. I am still awaiting their reply,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
In a separate post, Ms Chaturvedi listed the 18 apps that were banned by the Centre last year. “The apps blocked by the government were primarily platforms distributing explicit material. The following 18 apps were banned… Surprisingly 2 of the biggest apps were kept out- Ullu and Alt Balaji, will I&B tell the country why were they left out from this ban?” she said.
On March 14, 2024, the I&B Ministry had blocked 18 OTT platforms, which were found to be streaming obscene and pornographic content.
The 18 Banned OTT Apps
The apps blocked by the government were primarily platforms distributing explicit material. The following 18 apps were…— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 1, 2025
In the clip, Mr Khan is seen asking a contestant about various Kama Sutra sex positions during his reality show. He then asks another set of contestants to demonstrate the positions.
Ms Chaturvedi’s remarks came days after the Supreme Court, on April 28, issued notices to the Centre, OTT and social media platforms on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to take appropriate steps to prohibit the streaming of obscene content.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih said the issue was of “important concern” and sought a response from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Alt Balaji, ULLU, X, Meta Inc, Google, Mubi, Apple and others on the PIL seeking regulation of obscene content on OTT platforms and social media.
‘This will not work’: BJP MP
BJP MP Dubey also took note of the clip and assured that such content will not be allowed.
“This will not work @MIB_India, our committee will take action on this,” he said in a post on X in Hindi, as he tagged the I&B Ministry.
यह नहीं चलेगा @MIB_India , हमारी कमिटि इसपर कारवाई करेगी https://t.co/mn2EpYgPVP
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) May 1, 2025
BJP Yuva Morcha Bihar chief Barun Raj Singh also demanded that such shows be taken off air. “They talk about on camera sex position (sic). All this is shown on TV and The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sleeps with its eyes closed. Such shows should be stopped immediately,” he wrote on X.
He also asked I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to “save our children”.
Criticism on social media
The video evoked sharp criticism from social media users.
“Damn, how low the TV shows have stopped (sic) to,” an X user said.
“What… is this? It’s neither funny, nor entertaining and not even porn. Something is weirdly wrong with producers and directors nowadays where crass is seen as desirable,” another said.
