A graphic MMS eight-minute clip of a sex act allegedly between Sherawat and a
foreigner has been in circulation on cellphones in India for many weeks,
infuriating the actress who has taken the matter to police.
The Information Technology Act 2000 bans dissemination of obscene images, with
punishment of up to five years in jail.
Police are investigating the origins of the image but say it will not be easy
nabbing the culprits.
"The grey area is that a police case would have to be against a person or group
of persons (rather than service providers).
Tracking down Internet and mobile phone porn is difficult," said a High Court
lawyer specialising in international laws.
More effective, the lawyer argued, would be for the regulator or concerned
ministry to issue stricter guidelines demanding mobile phone service providers
find ways to clean up content sent by its customers.
Priyanka Chopra |
Leading Bollywood actress and former Miss World Lara Dutta called for a ban on
the phones.
"These mobile cameras are an invasion of privacy and there is nothing more
annoying than someone clicking your picture without you noticing," she said.
Said Priyanka Chopra, the industry's latest leading lady and a former Miss
World: "I even block the keyhole of my hotel room as this MMS business has
psyched everyone around."
With a ban on camera phones unlikely, actors are instead boosting their
security.
"I live in a very closed-circuit and my security is perfect," said actress and
former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, who has installed electronic security
gadgets at her Mumbai apartment.
"I feel if anyone tries to fiddle with his MMS phone or any camera gadget, he
would be the first to get caught rather than me. I will actually bash him," she
warned.
