BJP MP Ravi Kishan’s remarks on Bollywood and drugs, in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput case, has even his party colleagues riled up.
Hema Malini’s comments to a television news channel was in complete contrast to what Kishan had said, and appeared to side more with the speech made by Jaya Bachchan, even though she is from a rival party
While Jaya Bachchan pointed out in her speech on Tuesday that the government should stand by Bollywood because not only did they pay the highest taxes but also represented India outside of the country, Hema Malini said she could not tolerate it “when they ridicule our industry like this”.
On Tuesday, the government told the Lok Sabha that no “actionable inputs” had been received by the Narcotics Control Bureau on any nexus between people in the entertainment industry and drug traffickers.
The allegations had surfaced following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and NCB’s investigation into the drug angle in the case and the arrest of his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
“So many great artistes... matinee idols were gods in human form. People used to wonder whether they were artistes or God. Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dharmendra (Hema Malini’s husband), Amit-ji (Amitabh Bachchan) - they are all examples of Bollywood luminaries who made Bollywood synonymous with everything Indian. Bollywood is India. I can’t take it when they ridicule our industry like this,” NDTV quoted Hema Malini as saying.
Her comments came after her BJP colleague Ravi Kishan alleged that Bollywood had a problem too.
Several BJP leaders in recent times have claimed that there could be a “drug mafia” in Bollywood, including leaders like Vishwas Sarang and Ram Kadam. This hasn’t gone down well with members of Bollywood who are also part of the Parliament.
Bachchan had on Tuesday accused Kishan saying “Jis thaali mein khaatein hain, usi mein chhed kartein hain (They bite the hand that feeds them)” since Kishan has also been an actor in Bhojpuri films and many Hindi films.
Bachchan had said, “Entertainment industry in our country which provides direct employment every day to 5 lakh people and indirect employment to 5 million people. At a time when the financial situation is in a depressing state, and employment is at the worst level, in order to divert attention of the people, we are being used to be flogged by the social media and the government’s non support.”