Agencies

Mumbai, Aug. 14 : Actor Ajay Devgn on Thursday said the digital space needs to be regulated “to a point” because with complete freedom, people will take advantage of the medium.

The Centre on February 25 had notified new rules and guidelines for OTT (over-the-top) platforms and digital news media, requiring them to make public their details and having a grievance redressal system in place.
Devgn, who is gearing up for the release of his feature film Bhuj: The Pride of India on OTT and will make his digital debut with the series Rudra – The Edge of Darkness’, said he hopes the regulations are not a step in the wrong direction.

“It is an area of concern to a point. To a point it needs to be regulated but we should not start going backwards. Regulations should be right. The fear isn’t that it’s getting regulated. The fear is what the regulations are,” Devgn said in a group interview.

In February, the then Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar held an interaction with representatives of various OTT platforms, including ALTBalaji, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Jio, Zee5, Viacom18, Shemaroo and MX Player.

While addressing representatives of the industry, the former minister had mentioned that in the past, the government had held several rounds of consultation with OTT players and stressed on the need for “self-regulation”. Commenting on the same, Devgn further said the regulations should be in place to keep a check on any unwarranted content, but more clarity is required on what could become problematic online.

“If we don’t regulate something, people take advantage. Four people taking advantage will spoil the name of the whole industry. If you don’t regulate, people will start putting porn on it also. So regulations are important but there has to be a line drawn,” he added.

Bhuj, headlined by Devgn, will be released on Disney+ Hotstar VIP on Friday. Billed as a “true story” of bravery, patriotism and determination, the film is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War.
It was earlier set for a theatrical release but headed to the streaming platform due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 52-year-old actor said going straight to digital has not affected the film’s prospects.