MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court's order issued yesterday restraining TV channels from telecasting adult movies or programmes without prior permission of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has been greeted cautiously by the TV industry. Some of the channels remained non-committal when queried about their next step.
AXN programming head Rohit Bhandari said the channel would continue with its present schedule since it hasn't received the court order yet.
"We will continue with our present schedule. We are not going to take any show off as of now since the court order hasn't reached us yet. We will plan our future moves only after having a look at the ruling. Adhering to the present guidelines we have been telecasting adult programmes in the late-night time band (11:00 pm - 6:00 pm) only," said Bhandari.
Zee TV business head Abhijit Saxena reserved his comments saying the channel had yet to receive the order. Star TV and Sun TV officials were unavailable for comment.
The issue has come up following a ruling delivered yesterday on a PIL filed by a Mumbai resident. Chief Justice DS Bhandari and Justice DY Chandrachud has issued an order restraining channels, among which are Star TV, Sony TV, Zee TV, Udaya TV, AXN TV and Sun Network's Surya TV, from telecasting adult movies and programmes without prior permission of the CBFC. The court has also asked the channels to file affidavits stating how many adult movies were shown during the last three months with timing details.
In the light of the ban, some of the movies Star Movies has lined up for September might raise a few eyebrows, not so much the selection as the timing. The channel is premiering The Guru on 4 September at 9 pm. On 25 September it scheduled to telecast the Jennifer Aniston starrer The Good Girl at 9 pm. The Angelina Jolie starrer Mojave Moon is scheduled for a 7:05 pm airing on 19 September. Another Jolie starrer Original Sin is slotted at 6:50 pm on 26 September.
In the late-night time band AXN has been telecasting adult shows Hot and Wild, Celebrities Uncensored and Bikini Destinations. HBO has the adult show Sex and the City for the late night viewer segment and Zee English is set to premiere Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar 2000-2004 on 5 September.
