#BollywoodStrikesBack: Production Houses Led by Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar and 29 Others File Suit in Delhi HC Against Top Media Houses for Slandering Bollywood

Taglined #BollywoodStrikesBack, the who's who of the entertainment industry in India has come together to launch a movement against the news channels maligning the image of the industry. A civil suit has been filed in the Delhi High court praying to direct  Republic TV, Arnab Goswami and Pradeep Bhandari of Republic TV, Times Now, Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar of Times Now to restrain from conducting media trials. The suit also asks media houses and social media platforms to refrain from publishing irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks against the film industry. The suit has been filed by DSK Legal on behalf of the Plaintiffs which includes four Bollywood industry associations and 34 leading Bollywood producers. Ram Gopal Varma Reveals First Poster of Arnab: The News Prostitute That Claims to Expose the Republic Editor (View Tweet).

The suit also calls for action to make 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.

In the past few months, news channels have used words and phrases like “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”.

Almost all the well-known names in Bollywood are represented through the Plaintiffs, including:

The Producers Guild of India

The Cine & TV Artiste Association

The Film and TV Producers Council

Screenwriters Association

Aamir Khan Productions

Ad-Labs Films

Ajay Devgn Fflims

Andolan Films

Anil Kapoor Film and Communication Network

Arbaaz Khan Productions

Ashutosh Gowariker Productions

BSK Network and Entertainment

Cape of Good Films

Clean Slate Filmz

Dharma Productions

Emmay Entertainment & Motion Pictures

Excel Entertainment

Filmkraft Productions

Hope Production

Kabir Khan Films

Luv Films

Macguffin Pictures

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment

One India Stories

R.S. Entertainment

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Pictures

Red Chillies Entertainment

Reliance Big Entertainment

Reel Life Productions

Rohit Shetty Pictures

Roy Kapur Productions

Salman Khan Ventures

Sohail Khan Productions

Sikhya Entertainment

Tiger Baby Digital

Vinod Chopra Films

Vishal Bhardwaj Film

Yash Raj Films

The above-mentioned names are not seeking a blanket gag on the reportage, but are only seeking a perpetual and mandatory injunction against the Defendants.

The Plaintiffs have also pointed out the sensationalisation of the reportage on Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the FIRs No. 15 and 16/2020 filed by the NCB, Mumbai.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2020 05:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).