ULLU House Arrest: ‘Pornographic’ content sparks controversy. Why left out of the ban? asks Priyanka Chaturvedi

ULLU House Arrest: A viral clip from a reality show hosted on an OTT platform has sparked a controversy over its ‘pornographic’ and ‘obscene’ content, with Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wondering why the streaming app has not yet been banned by the Centre.

Sharing the clip from OTT web series 'House Arrest' - hosted by former Bigg Boss contestant Ajaz Khan and available on 'ULLU' platform - on X May 1, Chaturvedi claimed she has repeatedly flagged the ‘obscene’ content on such apps to the government but is yet to get a response.

"I have raised this in the standing committee that apps such as this, namely, Ullu App and Alt Balaji have managed to escape the ban by I&B ministry on apps for obscene content. I am still awaiting their reply," the Rajya Sabha MP said in the post of X, accompanying the viral clip.

In another post, Chaturvedi said that on March 14, 2024, the I&B Ministry had blocked 18 OTT platforms, which were found to be streaming obscene and pornographic content. “ The apps blocked by the government were primarily platforms distributing explicit material. The following 18 apps were banned. Surprisingly, 2 of the biggest apps were kept out- Ullu and Alt Balaji, will I&B tell the country why were they left out from this ban?,” she asked.

This OTT web series, House Arrest, in ULLU is hosted by former Bigg Boss contestant Ajaz Khan and has shocked viewers with its bold and ‘vulgar’ content.

In one of the clips, Khan is seen asking other contestants to demonstrate show sex positions. The contestants do what Khan, who calls himself the “daddy of the house”, says.

'This will not work': BJP MP

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey has also noted the clip and assured that such content will not be allowed.

"This will not work, our committee will take action on this," Dubey said in a post on X in Hindi, tagging Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Ashwini Vaishnaw is the Union I&B Minister.

SC notice to Centre on obscene content

The ‘House Arrest’ controversy comes days after the Supreme Court, on April 28,issued notices to the Centre and other relevant parties in response to a petition seeking a directive to take appropriate measures to ban the streaming of sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih said the issue was of "important concern" and sought a response from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Alt Balaji, ULLU, X, Meta Inc, Google, Mubi, Apple and others on the PIL seeking regulation of obscene content on OTT platforms and social media.

India Got Latent Row

The latest row also comes months after podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia found himself in a major controversy in February over his ‘vulgar’ comments on Samay Raina's now-deleted comedy show "India's Got Latent".

Allahabadia apologised the next day. Many police complaints were filed against him, and the case reached the Supreme Court of India.

The Court granted him interim protection from arrest, though it termed his remarks "vulgar" and said he had a “dirty mind”. He was allowed to resume his show by the court in March.