Four Bollywood industry associations and 34 leading producers have moved the Delhi High Court to prevent Republic TV, Times Now and other social media platforms from posting irresponsible and defamatory comments against Bollywood as a whole.
The lawsuit has been filed as a result of these channels using words and expressions very derogatory to Bollywood such as “dirt”, “filth”, “scum” and “drug addicts”.
Industry veterans
Producers who moved to High Court include Dharma Productions, Aamir Khan Productions, Ad-Labs Films, Ajay Devgn Flims, Yashraj Films, Salman Khan Films, Ashutosh Gowariker Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures, Reliance Big Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Vinod Chopra Films and Kabir Khan Films.
Producers and four Bollywood industry associations – the Film and Television Producers Guild of India (PGI), the Film and Television Artists Association (CINTAA), the Council of Film and Television Producers of India ( IFTPC) and the Writers Association (SWA) – have sought direction from news channels to comply with the provisions of the Program Code under the Cable Television Network Rules.
The lawsuit states that Bollywood is unique and stands on a different foundation from any other industry in that it is an industry that relies almost exclusively on the goodwill, appreciation and acceptance of its audience.
Livelihoods affected
The livelihood of people associated with Bollywood is severely affected by the smear campaign carried out by news channels and social media platforms. This is in addition to the ongoing pandemic that has resulted in an extreme loss of income and job opportunities, the law firm DSK Legal said in a statement.
“The privacy of Bollywood members is being invaded and their reputations are being irreparably damaged by painting all of Bollywood as criminals, seeping into drug culture and making being part of Bollywood synonymous with criminal acts in the public imagination” says the statement. He said.
However, the lawsuit indicated that the associations and producers are not seeking a blanket gag order against the media reports of the investigation in the cases related to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.
He claimed that the aforementioned news channels are conducting and publishing parallel private “investigations” and effectively acting as “courts” to convict Bollywood-related individuals as guilty on the basis of what they claim to be “evidence” found by them, attempting thus making a mockery of the criminal justice system.
The statement said that producers and associations are simply seeking “a perpetual and binding injunction against the Defendants not to report and publish material that violates applicable laws.”
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