The Family Man & Paatal Lok’s Upcoming Seasons Cancelled Due To Current Controversy Around OTT?
In the wake of new OTT rules issued by the I&B ministry, content creators and on-demand video streaming platforms have become cautious with their upcoming releases.
Amazon Prime Video To Cancel The Family Man & Paatal Lok’s Upcoming Seasons Following Current Controversy Around OTT? (PC: IMDb/Instagram)
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Amazon Prime Video’s espionage thriller The Family Man, which was released in 2019, received widespread positive reviews from fans and critics alike. Fans have been eagerly waiting for season 2 of The Family Man, which was supposed to release on February 12, 2021, but was later postponed for a summer release.
Now in the wake of new OTT rules issued by the information and broadcasting ministry, content creators and on-demand video streaming platforms have become cautious with their upcoming releases. Given the scenario, the question arises whether Raj & DK’s thriller spy series will see the light of the day?
Two people familiar with the development has now opened up about the fate of The Family Man 2 and crime thriller Paatal Lok. As reported by Live Mint, a filmmaker working on a web show, who on the condition of anonymity, said, “All platforms are asking creators to be extremely cautious at the moment, and basically avoid depicting (social and political) realities. These are all companies running businesses and they cannot afford to have one product lead to the demise of the broader entity. Eventually, a Family Man or a Paatal Lok is only a tiny pie of Amazon’s overall operations in India. Most services have worked with legal firms to point out problematic aspects for about three years but are now going through scripts with a toothcomb.”
The anonymous filmmaker also mentioned to the publication that topics like s*x and n*dity may have been mentioned in the guidelines which have been restricted to older audiences as part of specific age classifications. The primary aim of the new OTT rules or guidelines is to clampdown content of political nature that rubs the establishment the wrong way.
Furthermore, a senior executive at a streaming platform said to the publication, “Challenges arise from the fact that a lot of OTT platforms are ad-supported or free, so there will need to be developed a strong system of age verification. Also, parental locks, if desired, will have to be imposed on every single episode of a particular series, making for a cumbersome process.”
Going by the report, it seems the new OTT rules puts Amazone Prime Video is a difficult position to release The Family Man 2. But in lieu of the same, the makers of the show – Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. – took to Twitter and quashed any and all such rumours. Replying to the news they simple wrote, “BS!”
The much-awaited show has been in development with a budget of Rs 55 crores and it is ready to be released on the streaming service platform. Now it only becomes natural for the makers to either self-censor the questionable scenes from the web series thereby abiding by the rules and or will go through the traditional mechanism of screening for the Censor Board. This would also mean that the series may be further delayed for the release on the streaming platform.
So what do you think about the release of The Family Man 2? Let us know in the comments.
