Editors Guild of India chief Shekhar Gupta has taken to Twitter to hail the Bollywood big-wigs who have joined hands to gag Republic TV by approaching the Delhi High Court. Calling it a turning point for Bollywood, Gupta said that this effort would mark an ‘industry’ daring to see itself as an institution, as he claimed that an institution is only which can stand for itself.
This collective legal action agains calumny can be a turning point for Bollywood. It could mark an ‘industry’ daring to see itself as an institutions. And institutions must have a spine.
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) October 12, 2020
Shekhar Gupta’s Editors Guild has been extremely vocal and often condemned the misuse of laws to threaten “free press”. And today ironically, the chief of Editors Guild- the association which ‘stands committed to free, fair and independent journalism’, seen celebrating Bollywood’s brazen attempt to stifle the freedom of the press.
However, Shekhar Gupta is not the only one. Yesterday, India Today’s senior journalist Rahul Kanwal also published a celebratory tweet after Bollywood’s leading associations and production houses filed a suit in Delhi High Court against Republic TV, Arnab Goswami, Pradeep Bhandari, Times Now, Navika Kumar and Rahul Shivshankar earlier in the day.
It’s rather ludicrous to see all the so-called torchbearers of freedom of expression in media coming out and appreciating Bollywood for trying to suppress the same freedom of expression of their own competitors in the profession.
Bollywood join hands to target Arnab Goswami and Republic TV in Delhi High Court
As per reports, the suit has asked them to refrain from making ‘irresponsible, defamatory and derogatory remarks’ against Bollywood in wake of the mysterious death of Sushant Singh Rajput and subsequent drug scandal that has emerged.
Four cine-associations and 34 production houses including the ones owned by Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Rakesh Roshan, Salman Khan and his brother Sohail Khan, Ajay Devgn and Aditya Chopra amongst others have filed the suit.
The defendants while filing a suit against Republic TV and Times Now had claimed that livelihood of people associated with Bollywood is being impacted because of the alleged smear campaign. They also alleged their privacy is also being invaded and reputation “irreparably damaged” by painting entire industry seeped in drug culture.
