Filmmakers Move HC Against Bollywood Vilification
A group of Bollywood filmmakers on Monday moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions to Republic TV and Times Now, and their prominent faces, to refrain from making irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks against Bollywood as a whole and conducting media trials against Bollywood personalities.
The civil suit, moved by four Bollywood industry associations and thirty-four Bollywood filmmakers, sought directions to restrain Republic TV, Arnab Goswami and Pradeep Bhandari of the channel, Times Now, its editors Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar, and social media platforms to restrain from interfering with the right to privacy of persons associated with Bollywood.
The plaintiffs also prayed that the defendants abide by the provisions of the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, and to withdraw, recall and take down all the defamatory content published by them against Bollywood.
The civil suit, filed by DSK Legal on behalf of the plaintiffs, pleaded that Bollywood is a distinct and well-recognised class, comprising the Hindi film industry in Mumbai.
It said that the suit was filed in the wake of these channels using “highly derogatory words” for Bollywood such as “dirt”, “filth”, “scum”, “druggies” and expressions such as “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”. (ANI)
