AThe Mumbai police on Friday registered an FIR against actor Ajaz Khan, producer Rajkumar Pandey and others for alleged obscene content in their web show House Arrest, an official said. The web show, hosted by Khan, is streamed on the Ullu app.
"Based on a complaint lodged by Gautam Ravriya, an activist of Bajrang Dal, the police registered a case against actor Ajaz Khan, producer Rajkumar Pandey of 'House Arrest' web show and other persons from Ullu app," the official of Amboli police station said.
As per the complaint, the web show contained obscene language, and the acts performed in the show insulted the modesty of women, he said.
"The complainant mentioned that he received several complaints about the vulgar content of the show and that many people sent personal messages to him to complain about it," he added.
The producer and the host of House Arrest have been charged under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, the official said.
In the video clips of the web show that have gone viral on social media, Khan is seen putting pressure on contestants, including women, to act out intimate situations. He also asks the participants some vulgar questions.
On Thursday, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party MLC Chitra Wagh demanded an immediate ban on House Arrest, alleging its content is obscene and harmful to society, especially to children.
She also urged Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw to take strict action against mobile applications that promote such content.
Speaking out against the show, Wagh stated, "Ajaz Khan, who calls himself an actor, has created a show called House Arrest, which is nothing but the epitome of obscenity. Clips from this show, streamed on the Ullu app, are now circulating freely on social media, and they are extremely vulgar."
Meanwhile, Ajaz Khan's reality show House Arrest has been pulled down from streaming platform Ullu after a snowballing controversy over its sexually explicit content.
A search for the show House Arrest on the Ullu app, known primarily for its adult content, yielded no results on Friday.
The National Commission for Women has summoned Ullu CEO Vibhu Agarwal and Khan, a former Bigg Boss contestant, after taking suo motu cognisance of the controversy and expressed strong condemnation over its content.
"Viral clips show women being coerced into intimate acts on camera. NCW slams the platform for promoting vulgarity & violating consent," it said in a post on X.
Agarwal and Khan, who has been seen in peripheral roles in a few films, including Raktcharitra, and some TV shows, have been asked to appear before it on May 9.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi shared a clip from the show on her X handle on Thursday and asked why content apps producing such "obscene content" are not banned.
"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," she wrote.
Chaturvedi shared another post with the names of the applications that were banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in March 2024.
"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 they were left out from this ban," she wrote.
House Arrest, which started streaming on Ullu from April 11, has been described as an uncensored version of captive reality series like Bigg Boss and Lock Upp. It centres around 12 contestants, nine women and three men, confined together in a luxurious villa where they are asked to perform various tasks and challenges.
Gehna Vashisht, one of the participants, said she has been receiving many messages that the show should be banned. "You people watch porn. Isn't that spreading vulgarity. Why no action against them," she said in a video on social media.
"I'm comfortable, all the contestants are comfortable and are above 18 and are doing the show willingly... nobody forced them.... You people are such hypocrites that you look for education in an entertaining show and entertainment in an education programme... Don't divert people from important topics," she added in the message that quickly went viral.
Many users on social media also called out Khan and the app for promoting vulgarity in the name of content.
"Ajaz Khan & Ullu app are both repeat offenders. Why is there no censorship on such vulgar OTT shows? Thought porn sites were banned in India," one user said on X.
"Isn't this vulgarity? #Latent got banned as it was a dark comedy show. Ooh, the vulgar shows cannot be banned, right? Ajaz Khan is openly promoting this on his new show," wrote another user.
"This show is not only disgusting but beyond the definition of vulgar. The host Ajaz Khan is crossing boundaries. It's a cheapest copy of Bigg Boss. The reels of this show are viral. Please ban this show asap," wrote another social media user.
Launched in 2018, Ullu app offers a variety of content including web-series, movies and reality programmes that focus on bold and adult narratives.
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