Amid OTT censorship debate, director Arati Kadav speaks against the motion

"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 said.

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Mumbai: 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."