The Hindi film industry is still in deep slumber. Although the number of stars who’ve come out openly in support of Rhea Chakraborty and/or against the falsehood being spread by a couple of industry people and several television news channels (which are conducting a veritable media trial in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case) about Bollywood in general and a few celebrities in particular is increasing, it is just not enough. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Huma Qureshi and a handful of others may have joined the ranks of Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan, Swara Bhaskar, Minissha Lamba, Anurag Kashyap and Farhan Akhtar in supporting Rhea and Bollywood on social media platforms, the majority of the top stars and celebrities continue to remain silent or turn a blind eye to the savage happenings around them.
Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor managed a minor victory in the Delhi high court today (10th September) when the court directed Arnab Goswami of Republic TV to exercise restraint in Tharoor’s plea seeking injunction against defamatory broadcasting, saying that the “media can’t run parallel trial”. Had the film industry similarly dragged the television news channels to court for conducting a media trial in the Sushant case, it would also have probably got a favourable order.
A similar order by the Bombay high court today said that it expected media to show restraint in reporting and not to hamper investigations in the Sushant case. The order was passed in a petition filed by a film producer, Nilesh Navlakha, Mahibub D. Shaikh (editor of a regional newspaper) and a retired civil servant, Subhash Chander Chaba. Along with the aforementioned PIL, the Bombay high court also considered a PIL filed by eight retired top cops of Bombay, seeking an end to the trial by media in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. While posting the matter to 8th October, the court said, “The pendency of the petitions shall not preclude the News Broadcasting Standards Authority to consider the complaints that have been received by it and to take appropriate decision in accordance with law.”
Interestingly, after the demolition of the allegedly illegal constructions by the BMC in Kangana Ranaut’s office yesterday (9th), her fans have been asking how justified the BMC was in targeting only Kangana when there are so many residences and offices in Bombay city, with illegal constructions and alterations. Such people should first answer the question: when college students in Bombay roam freely with drugs in their pockets, how did the NCB arrest only Rhea Chakraborty in a drug case? Only after they can answer this one should they be asking the Kangana-BMC question. Also, for those who think, the BMC has singled out Ranaut, they should not forget that similar demolition work was carried out in or outside the bungalows and houses/offices owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Rajkumar Santoshi, Arjun Kapoor, Kapil Sharma etc.