Rajya Sabha member and veteran actor Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday criticized Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Kishan and Kangana Ranaut for what she said were attempts to smear the film industry.
The leader of the Samajwadi Party, while speaking in the Upper House, did not name anyone.
Jaya Bachchan’s comments come a day after Ravi Kishan, BJP’s Lok Sabha MP and popular Bhojpuri actor, said there was a drug addiction problem in the film industry. They also came after recent comments by actor Kangana Ranaut calling Bollywood a “gutter.”
Also read: Kangana Ranaut answers and asks if Jaya Bachchan’s position would change if her children were attacked
Bachchan said during Zero Hour that the entertainment industry was being whipped by social media and called on the government to protect and support it.
Here is what she said:
* Samajwadi Party MP said she completely disagrees with those who called the entertainment industry a “channel”. “The people who have made a name for themselves in this industry have called him a scoundrel. I completely disagree and really dissociate myself, “he said.
* Bachchan said she was “really ashamed and embarrassed” in a reference to Kishan’s statement in the Lok Sabha about the alleged Bollywood drug cartel. “Jis thali mein khate hai usme chhed karte hai. Galat baat hai, ”he said, referring to a popular Hindi proverb that means to bite the hands that feed you.
* He said that the entertainment industry in the country provides direct employment to 500,000 people every day and indirect employment to 5 million people. “At a time when the financial situation is depressed and the employment rate at the worst levels, to divert people’s attention, we are being whipped by social networks” and there is no government support, he said.
* Bachchan said the government should come forward and support the entertainment industry. “I hope the government tells these people who have earned their name and fame in this industry to stop using that language,” he said. “There are people in the entertainment industry who are some of the biggest taxpayers (in the country). They are still being harassed, ”he said.
* “I believe that the government should support the entertainment industry because it always offers to help the government in any good work it does. They come and speak for them, they support them. If there is a national calamity, they show up, give money and their services, ”he said.
* “I think it’s very, very important for the government to support this industry and not kill it. Just because there are few people, you can’t tarnish the image of the entire industry, ”he said, adding that the industry brings a name and international recognition as well as a basis for political ambitions.
* “Sir, I get very nervous and very excited. I have too many things to say, but they are not giving me enough time and opportunity, ”he told Rajya Sabha President M Venkaiah Naidu. “I need protection, the industry needs protection and support from the government,” he also said.
(With PTI inputs)
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