As film bodies and production houses file a suit seeking to restrain certain news channels / journalists, industry insiders hail the move, while channels say they’ll pursue the truth
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 14, 2020)

On Monday, 38 film bodies and production houses filed a suit in the Delhi High Court, seeking to restrain two news channels and four TV journalists, from making or publishing alleged “irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks” against the film industry, and conducting media trials on various issues. The lawsuit named Republic TV, its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and consulting editor Pradeep Bhandari; Times Now, its editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar and group editor Navika Kumar as well as social media platforms.

While Bollywood insiders feel it was “high time the industry fought back”, the anchors say they will “continue to fight for the truth”. Filmmaker R Balki, whose company Hope Productions is a part of the lawsuit, says: “You can’t keep defaming the industry, and indulge in name-calling just because you have a TV channel. Forget about them following ethics, there are certain guidelines that they must abide by. It’s not a ‘free-for-all’ kind of a world. So, at the end of the day, taking the legal route is the logical and correct way.”

The lawsuit was filed by four Bollywood industry associations and 34 production houses including those owned by leading actors Anushka Sharma, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn, actor-director Farhan Akhtar, and filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj, Karan Johar, Kabir Khan and Rohit Shetty, besides Yash Raj Films etc.

Director Anees Bazmee says, “This should have happened way earlier, but koi baat nahi, der aaye, durust aaye. Defaming the entire industry is not acceptable. There may be certain wrong things in Bollywood but that could be true of every industry. That doesn’t mean you will disrepute everyone and say that 90% of the industry is bad. However, I’m a bit confused as to why the suit has been filed in the Delhi High Court, and not in Mumbai.”

We reached out to filmmakers such as Nikkhil Advani, Guneet Monga, Siddharth Roy Kapur (also president of the Producers Guild of India) and Shibashish Sarkar, whose production houses are a part of the lawsuit, but they refrained from commenting as the case was subjudice.

Goswami, during his show on Monday night, stated that he and his team will continue to look for the truth. “Let them do what they can, the truth will come out and the drugs connection to Bollywood, for those who have come together today [referring to the suit], the truth there also will come out. Our pursuit of the truth will only become stronger, intense and more focused,” he said on his show.

Navika tweeted: “If fighting for justice invites court cases, bring it on. All the A-listers can come together but India will continue to fight for the truth. You can’t intimidate us and can’t take away the viewers who believe in us. Let truth prevail,” tagging Aamir, Shah Rukh and Johar in her tweet.

Shivshankar too, tweeted, tagging Salman, Aamir, Devgn, Johar and Kangana Ranaut; “Cases against journalists of Times Now that have only sought justice for those who are wronged are a bad precedent. The mighty may think they can weaken the resolve of the fearless, but they are wrong.”
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After 34 production houses file a lawsuit against Times Now, Republic TV for 'irresponsible' reportage, plaintiffs tell mid-day how studios, screenwriters, artistes came together over six weeks for the move
Uma Ramasubramanian, Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 14, 2020)

Over the past four months, Bollywood was a sitting duck as a section of television anchors — who believe that the loudest is the truest — referred to it as "druggies", "scum" and "the dirtiest industry in the country". On Monday, in an unprecedented move, four cine bodies and 34 studios — including Aamir Khan Productions, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment and Zoya Akhtar's Tiger Baby Digital — moved the Delhi High Court, seeking to restrain Republic TV and Times Now from making "irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks" against the industry. The lawsuit sought a direction to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and journalist Pradeep Bhandari, Times Now editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar and group editor Navika Kumar, instructing them to restrain from interfering with the right to privacy of persons associated with the industry. It also called to pull down all the defamatory content published by them against Bollywood.

One of the key plaintiffs reveals that in early September, artistes and filmmakers discussed taking action against the vilification of Bollywood. "A prominent association requested other bodies to join forces and take measures. Finally, a few weeks ago, the cine bodies — including Cine & TV Artistes Association, Producers' Guild, Indian Film & TV Producers' Council and Screenwriters Association, which boasts 31,000 writers — teamed up at the behest of filmmakers. After numerous discussions with prominent artistes and producers, they unanimously decided to seek legal recourse. Now, the industry is speaking up together as their dignified silence was being misconstrued as an admission of guilt," says the plaintiff.

The lawsuit stated that the industry is not asking for a blanket gag order against these channels' reportage of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. Another plaintiff says, "We're not questioning the factual reporting of the case, but we want them to stop the media trial. The industry is made up of hardworking individuals and they are all being viewed derogatorily because of this smear campaign." If other cine bodies or individuals want to vouch support, provisions will be made for them to legally join the suit.

mid-day reached out to DSK Legal's senior advocate Anand Desai, who filed the lawsuit. He refused to comment as the matter is sub-judice.

Rahul Shivshankar and Arnab Goswami