Delhi HC orders FIR against TVF's 'College Romance'
The Viral Fever aka TVF is facing legal trouble after the Delhi High Court ordered an FIR to be registered against the makers and actors of the series College Romance. The series premiered its first season back in 2018 and has released three seasons till 2022. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma remarked the language used was "filthy, profane, and vulgar."
Why does this story matter?
Language has been a point of debate in Indian films. Earlier, many films have been censored for allegedly using vulgar language. Filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, who make raw and realistic films, have faced the brunt of the censor board and courts earlier. With the advent of OTT, the courts and censor board were comparatively lenient but recently, "content" is facing the music again.
Justice Sharma's reaction after watching the episodes
As per a report on News18, Justice Sharma said because of the profane language she had to watch the episodes using earphones in the chamber. She stated, "...the profanity of language used was of the extent that it could not have been heard without shocking or alarming the people around and keeping in mind the decorum of language..."
Will deprave and corrupt the youth: Delhi HC
According to the single-bench judge, this web series will "deprave and corrupt" the youth and their minds. As per the court, the language used in the series is not spoken by the nation's youth and cannot be termed as the frequently spoken language in India. She emphasized that the show's director Simarpreet Singh and actor Apoorva Arora will be booked under the IT Act.
Makers to be booked under IT Act
Justice Sharma ruled that Singh and Arora will be booked under Section 67 of the IT Act—publishing or transmitting any material that is lascivious in electronic form—and 67A—punishment for publishing or transmitting material that contains sexually explicit act.
Language shapes culture and lifestyle
The judge stated that the language used in the show does not pass the morality test. She further stated, "The language which is being today called normal college culture and lifestyle is bound to percolate to school-going children since it is unclassified and tomorrow may be called normal school culture since the new generation will learn from the older generation."
Earlier controversies of TVF
This is not the first time TVF has become the core of a controversy. Back in 2017, many women opened up about being sexually harassed by founder Arunabh Kumar. Following the allegations, he stepped down as the CEO. However, charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence. Many times, netizens have critiqued TVF for portraying stereotypes in their content.
