In first hearing under new IT rules, DMCRC trashes appeal against trailer of Disney+Hotstar series ‘Grahan’

The complainants had alleged that the show was an artwork of “a sinister mindset” aimed at setting a false narrative about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A still from 'Grahan'

In its first hearing after it was formed under the new Information Technology Rules, the Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal against the trailer of Disney+Hotstar web series “Grahan” released recently.

The complainants had alleged that the show was an artwork of “a sinister mindset” aimed at setting a false narrative about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

They had also accused the makers of the show of attempting to show that a turbaned/Sikh man had been involved in looting and arson.

After watching the trailer, the DMCRC in its order unanimously held that “it is unreasonable to judge such a long series, whose total length runs into a few hours over eight episodes, on the basis of a trailer that runs for 2 minutes and 24 seconds”.

“A trailer is specifically meant to generate curiosity, and in the present instance, it does that – create a sense of intrigue and mystery about the story that would unfold,” the council said.

The council noted that the trailer is a short glimpse of the eight-episode web series.

“The Council unanimously found that no community has been portrayed in a denigrating manner or in a bad light in the trailer,” it said in the order.

Moreover, there is no allusion or assumption of a Sikh person trying to engineer the riots as alleged by the appellants, the council said.

“The Council is of the unanimous opinion that the trailer is within the framework of the law and therefore, the Appeal is not maintainable. The Appeal is without merit and is dismissed,” the DMCRC said in its order.

This was the first appeal that the council took up for hearing after it was formed under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, notified by the central government recently.

Before hearing the appeal, the newly constituted DMCRC held its first meeting which was chaired by Justice (retd) Vikramajit Sen.

All the six members of the Council attended the meeting and were welcomed by the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) Secretary General, Mr. Siddharth Jain, the DMCRC said in a statement.

“In his opening remarks, Justice Vikramajit Sen said ‘we are about to embark upon a unique journey in content self-regulation. A fine balance needs to be maintained between creativity, freedom of expression and law’,” the council added.