Clean TV, anyone?

"I am in love with two men. One is much older to me, the other is married!"--- tag lines of TV serials like this one from Sahara One's Kuch Love Kuch Masti, make Pratiba Naitthani very angry!

Kuch Love Kuch Masti;Women looking for some fun!

"Television viewing is increasingly becoming an affair that can't be done with the whole family", says Pratiba, a political science lecturer at St. Xaviers College, Mumbai. Having already filed a public interest litigation with the Mumbai High Court against such shows, Pratiba now plans to create a human chain at Marine Drive, Mumbai on 8 March at 3.30 p.m, to protest against vulgarity and violence on television. It's no coincidence that the day also happens to be International Women's Day.

Pratiba's ire is not directed merely at serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, but to hoardings of shows like Kucch Love Kucch Masti that are splashed across metro roads.

The portrayal of women and their issues on television has always been a sensitive area for directors and producers. The depiction of violence and sex in the media is perhaps at an all time high now --- but as far as content on television goes, the portrayal is subtler, but definitely there. This is what the PIL of Ms Naitthani is all about. The question is not about "how much", but about "why" --- "talking about the sex lives of people is not entertainment. Go to any household, from 7 pm to 11 pm people will not budge from their seats in front of the TV," she maintains. Blame it on the hold that TV has over people or its corrupting influence, Pratiba seems to believe that an adult slot is not the solution to this problem --- a regulatory board is a must, she feels.

TV producers and channels may not approve, but Pratiba has the support of deputy commissioner of police of the Enforcement, Social Service Branch, which has accepted this proposal and has promised all possible help to make the 'human chain' event successful.

Will there be a celeb quotient in the chain, we ask --- "I don't need help from the celebrities, they have more access to the media than I do, they don't need me to endorse something that they believe in," she says.