INDIAN television has come of age. Now it's Plus 21. Yes, that's the name of the first-ever Indian adult channel. Sceptical? The channel, which is being launched by Chandigarh-based Global Television on July 1, has already begun beaming its test signals via the Russian satellite Gorizont: the clip of a gangrape scene from a B-grade Hindi film.

Adult signals indeed. Apt for a channel that aims to take television viewing from "the lounge into the bedroom". Between 10 pm and 2 am. In Hindi. For an audience over the age of 21. "And not 18 because the marriageable age in India is about 21 and we don't want to create any controversy," observes the channel's CEO Suresh Kumar.

But controversy there might be. What with an array of "adult" comedies, dramas and soap operas on Plus 21's programme schedule. An epic mega-serial, Kamasutra, based on Vatsyayan's original work, to be stretched up to 200 episodes depending on the viewer response. Director Pawan Verma's serial—Ek Aur Silsila—about a wife who...