In a shocking and unprecedented turn of events, 34 leading Bollywood producers have filed a legal case in the Delhi High Court against “irresponsible reporting by Republic TV and Times Now on Sushant Singh Rajput investigation.
Some of the film industry’s biggest names, including Producers Guild of India, the Cine and TV Artiste Association, Ad-Labs Films, Ajay Devgn Fflims, Anil Kapoor Film, and Communication Network, Arbaaz Khan Productions, Ashutosh Gowariker Productions, Excel Entertainment, Kabir Khan Films, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures, Reliance Big Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Pictures, Roy Kapur Productions, Vinod Chopra Films, and Vishal Bhardwaj Films have come together against these two channels.
The case has been filed against Republic TV, and Arnab Goswami and Pradeep Bhandari of the channel; and Times Now and its top anchors Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar, for using highly derogatory words and expressions for Bollywood. The objection has been raised over the usage of terms like “dirt”, “filth”, “scum” and “druggies” used over the past few months.
The entire Bollywood came together and complained about the channels using provocative expressions like — “It is Bollywood where the dirt needs to be cleaned”; “All the perfumes of Arabia cannot take away the stench and the stink of this filth and scum of the underbelly of Bollywood”; “This is the dirtiest industry in the country”; and “Cocaine and LSD-drenched Bollywood”.
As everyone is aware that Bollywood has been facing the wrath of netizens over a drugs probe started as a part of investigations into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Amid revelations of drug chats on phones, stars, and their parties have been subjected to searing, no-holds-barred media scrutiny, and that is what hurts the Bollywood.
Now Bollywood is demanding that TV channels, as well as social media platforms, must refrain from making or publishing irresponsible, derogatory, and defamatory remarks against Bollywood and its members. They also want the channels to stop carrying out media trials and infringing upon the privacy of members of the film industry.
While the producers don’t call for blanket media gag in the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation, they want the court to stop reportage that violates the law. They want the channels to “withdraw, recall and take down all the defamatory content published by them against Bollywood”.
The irony is that, this is the same Bollywood which never shy away from defaming the Nation and Hindus in the name of ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Artistic liberty’.
