Arati Kadav: Digital content should be censorship-free

Mumbai, Jan 28  Filmmaker Arati Kadav does not believe in censorship of digital content. She believes the idea would snatch away the power of being fearless from a storyteller.

The ongoing furore over the web series “Tandav” has triggered conversation around censorship of digital content again. Opening up on the subject, Arati, who has directed the sci-fi films “Cargo” and “55km/sec”, feels instead of censoring content, the practice of inserting a rating and a disclaimer should be in place.

“I think at least the content that we watch on OTT platform should be free from censorship. At least this should be a space where storytellers can find their original voice fearlessly. Anyway, there is so much analysis that happens with every content and there is a consciousness of analysing everything, on what is outrageous, what is not.” Arati told IANS.

“There is a fear of ‘what if it hurts sentiment’? In a way with censorship on digital shows, we will end up listening to extremist voices. I think the OTT space should be free from censorship. Yes, there should be a rating and a disclaimer inserted before content, which we do anyway. I see no reason for censoring content because who knows who is the best judge of what?” she added.

Highlighting the advantages of OTT platforms, Arati explained:” I think OTT platforms are creating the space to enable the plurality of voices — something that earlier used to not happen. ‘Cargo’ for instance saw the light of day thanks to OTT platform, and a new audience has grown. Storytellers like us have found space, and producers have found an avenue to recover money from the experimental cinema.”