Films/Documentary on Indian Army Should Require NOC from Ministry of Defence

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a letter written to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has suggested that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) be required by production houses before the telecast of any film or documentary on Indian Army.

The suggestion by the MoD aims to ensure that the image of the Indian Army is not distorted and has asked that the suggestion be extended to Over The Top (OTT) platforms as well.

“It has been brought to the notice of this Ministry that some production houses, making films on Army theme, are using contents which are distorting the image of the Indian Army. Therefore, the producers of movies/web series etc based on Army theme may be advised to obtain the NOC from Ministry of Defence before the telecast of any movie documentary on Army theme in the public domain,” reads the letter by MoD.

The communication comes in the wake of the uproar and criticism received by certain series released on the OTT platform. However, considering the grey area with respect to online content, the letter written by the Under Secretary Sudarshan Kumar has also been sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for consideration.

In its letter, the MoD has also suggested that production houses be advised to avoid and prevent any incident which either distorts the image of Defence forces or hurts their sentiments.

The Government of India had given 100 days to all major OTT platform in March this year, asking them to abide by the regulations of Digital Content Complaint Council.

Source: TNN