On Friday (July 23), actress Shilpa Shetty lambasted her husband for his alleged role in creating and publishing pornographic films on the mobile app HotShot.
As per a report published in NDTV, Raj Kundra was brought to his plush Juhu bungalow on Friday by the Mumbai police during a search operation. It was his first ‘homecoming’ after being arrested by cops on July 19. Citing police sources, NDTV reported that his wife Shilpa Shetty was aghast at his actions. “We have everything, what was the need to do all this,” the actress asked Raj Kundra.
Shilpa Shetty broke down into tears after seeing her husband. According to NDTV, she said that her family reputation was ruined, and was forced to give up on brand endorsements and projects. She also lamented about the financial losses caused by her husband’s involvement in the pornography scandal. The Mumbai police officials had questioned the actress at her home during the search operation. So far, the cops have not been able to establish whether the actress was aware of Kundra’s porn films operations.
According to police, a case was registered with the Crime Branch in February 2021 about the creation of pornographic films and publishing the same through apps. A case against Kundra was registered on July 19, 2021, as he appeared to be the key conspirator. The racket came to light earlier in February this year when a woman approached Mumbai Police and accused Kundra of luring young men and women on the pretext of offering roles in web series and allegedly forcing them to make porn films instead.
‘Just erotica, not porn’: Actress Shilpa Shetty defended husband Raj Kundra
Following his arrest on charges of producing pornographic films, actress Shilpa Shetty came out in defence of her husband, reported Mid-Day. While quoting a police official, it stated, “Shilpa Shetty said that the movies available on Hotshot are not pornography but erotica. She also said that nowadays, similar content is available on the various OTT platforms, and in fact, some are more obscene than what is available on Hotshot”. According to Mid-Day, she had denied her involvement in the production of the contentious videos.
During the remand hearing on July 23, advocate Abad Ponda representing Raj Kundra argued that the video content did not fall under the category of pornography. He said, “The videos don’t show the ‘actual act of coitus’ or ‘actual act of intercourse, hence they can’t be considered pornographic. OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon have similar content. Shows like Sex life and Four Shots have similar content. I don’t understand why Mumbai police are going after Kundra but not after Netflix and Amazon. In India, we don’t follow the ‘Hicklin test of obscenity — the model followed by the UK. We follow the ‘Canadian concept of obscenity.”
