Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir and many other Bollywood personalities file lawsuit against Arnab Goswami

At least four giant film industry associations and 34 top Bollywood producers have filed a suit in Delhi High Court against a news channel and four journalists for defaming the Hindi film industry.

According to the reports on Indian media, the lawsuit has been filed against Republic TV’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and journalist Pradeep Bhandari of the channel, and other top news anchors from India.

Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan among others are the plaintiffs, who have filed the suit challenging the derogatory remarks on various Indian news channels.

Hindustan Times reported that “the news channels are accused of using derogatory words such as “dirt”, “filth”, “scum”, “druggies” and expressions such as “all the perfumes of Arabia cannot take away the stench and the stink of this filth and scum of the underbelly of Bollywood”.

The Indian news channels also include expressions for Bollywood, “This is the dirtiest industry in the country” and “Cocaine and LSD-drenched Bollywood.”

The plaintiffs pleaded to the court that the film community has a distinct and well-recognized reputation that contributes immensely to the country’s foreign exchange and tourism. It was also reminded in the suit that Bollywood is a big source of employment, with various other industries also being dependent on it.

Furthermore, it was also mentioned in the suit that that “the privacy of the stars’ is being invaded and their reputations irreparably damaged by painting the entire industry seeped in the drug culture. To be a part of Bollywood is being painted as being synonymous with criminal acts in the public imagination”.

“The livelihood of persons associated with Bollywood is being severely impacted by the smear campaign being run by the defendants. This is in addition to the ongoing pandemic which has resulted in extreme revenues and work opportunity loss,” reads the suit filed by the law firm.