BOMBAY TIMES (September 16, 2020)

Reacting to Jaya Bachchan’s comments on him, Ravi Kishan said, “Jo Jaya ji ne bola, I am quite hurt. I thought she would in fact support me. The whole industry does not take drugs. Whoever is saying that is lying. There are a select few who do, which every industry has. When Jaya ji and I joined, the situation was not like this, but now we need to protect the industry. This is a creative field. It has history, legacy with so many Padma Shri, Padma Bhushans here. You can’t spoil Bollywood’s name. This was my pain — that my industry needs to be saved. Who is conspiring to break, sabotage the largest film industry in the world? If I don’t raise my voice for my industry and fraternity in the Parliament, who else will? As a responsible member of the film industry, it is not just my right, but my duty to raise it in Parliament.”

The actor-politician added that he raised his voice because he wants to create a better environment for the future generation of actors. He said, “There was a fashion developing (to go to parties and do drugs). Tomorrow, my kids might enter the industry, Jaya ji’s family’s kids may. What atmosphere are we giving them? We were taught it is a creative field. Tapasya karni hai, lines learn karni hai, body ko tapaana hai, then you become a superstar. We never had thought of all this nasha. Yeh khokhla kar deta hai. So, I am raising my voice to protect my industry. I have done 650 films over 30 years. Yeh film industry jitni Jaya ji ki hai utni hi meri bhi hai.”

“No hand ever fed me, Jaya ji. I have no godfather. Nobody gave me chance. So, I gave myself the break, in an industry that had been dormant — the Bhojpuri film industry,” he told a TV channel.