On Thursday, January 5, Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty urged the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath to help eradicate the stigma around Bollywood. He also asked CM Yogi to do something about the Twitter trend ‘#BoycottBollywood’.
During an interactive session with UP CM Yogi Adityanath who was on a two-day visit to Mumbai to discuss shooting and investment prospects in Noida Film City, actor Suniel Shetty took the opportunity to lament about the impact the boycott campaign has made on Bollywood. He also stressed the need to bring audiences back to theatres as well as change the perception of Bollywood/Hindi cinema people that they all indulge in wrong activities.
“I’d want to talk about this hashtag #BoycottBollywood. If you say something about it, this would stop. It is important to tell people that we have done a lot of good work also,” Shetty said.
The 61-year-old went on to say that Bollywood has made some good films as well, but people now have developed a negative perception of Bollywood, which needs to be changed.
“There is one rotten apple everywhere, but you can’t count all of us like that only. People nowadays believe that Bollywood is a bad place, but we have produced some good movies here. When I did Border, I was also a part of one such film. I’ve been a part of a lot of good films. We need to come together and figure out how to get rid of the Boycott Bollywood hashtag. We have to figure out how we can remove this trend, Shetty added.
Moreover, Suniel Shetty also asked CM Yogi to discuss the anti-Bollywood campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that “99% of the people” in the industry are good.
“Today, if I am Suniel Shetty, it is because of UP and the fans from there. This is very likely if you take the initiative. It is important that we remove the stigma that has been placed on us. It’s a very strong feeling for me. It pains me to tell you that we have this stigma but 99% of us are not like that. We don’t do drugs all day, and we don’t do not do wrong work. We are associated with good work. Bollywood music and our stories have connected India with the rest of the world. So, Yogi ji, if you take the initiative and speak with our beloved Prime Minister about it, it will make a significant difference,” he added.
Notably, UP CM was on a two-day Mumbai visit to promote Uttar Pradesh as the “most film-friendly state in India”. On Thursday, he wrapped up his trip by meeting Shetty, Subhash Ghai, Jackie Shroff, Rajkumar Santoshi, Manmohan Shetty, Jackie Bhagnani, and Boney Kapoor.
.@SunielVShetty Sir impactful words on ‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend on twitter:
— Suniel Shetty FC (@SunielShetty_FC) January 5, 2023
Hashtag ‘BoycottBollywood’ should stop.Imp to convey that we’ve done good work.There can be one rotten apple. 99% of us don’t indulge in wrong things.We’ve to change this perception..👏🙏🙏#SunielShetty pic.twitter.com/Oi16h25mJ2
It is worth noting that the BoycottBollywood hashtag first became mainstream following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020, which sparked debate about the industry’s nepotism and the gate-keeping attitude of top production houses.
