Recently, several OTT players got a directive from Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, to not propagate vulgarity in the name of creative expression. Now, actor Purab Kohli, who was recently seen in the web film Blind, has added his opinion to the discourse, feels “not all explicit content on OTT is vulgar”. “The audience is smart enough to tell if content is being pushed just to get attention,” Kohli adds.

The 44-year-old, who played the role of a serial killer who abducts and sexually tortures young women in Blind, adds, “Sometimes, a filmmaker wants to titillate the audience; he wants them to be aroused. One should be allowed that because people see and feel that emotion.” However, he quickly adds that all this needs to be done responsibly and the onus lies on the filmmaker as well as the actors to decide who they want to work with. 

“It can be done delicately and interestingly, like I did on Sense8, which was released in 2015. The show pushed all the boundaries on sexuality, and no one found it offensive because it was done beautifully. People told me that they found sex scenes similar to paintings,” Kohli recounts.

The actor, who has also done web projects such as Out Of Love and Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach, feels it depends on the makers to portray it artistically. “The director needs to use the project as an art form, not just to arouse and shoot in a vulgar way. There is a fine line between art and vulgarity, which is why we need to be careful of the people we work with,” he notes, adding, “As actors, we have the right to choose the filmmakers. If I know a maker is known for making vulgar content, and if that person reaches out to me, I would be worried and may decide against taking the offer.”