Bollywood superstars have joined hands in their fight against “irresponsible reporting by certain media houses”; they filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Monday against several TV news channels and journalists for defaming the Hindi film industry.
Stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar and many others are now taking action against the media agencies.
One such suit has been filed against Republic TV, a news channel, and its journalists Arnab Goswami and Pradeep Bhandari; another has been launched against Times Now and its reporters Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar.
The lawsuit also requests that the court demand that TV channels restrain from launching 'media trials' targeting film personalities and interfering with their right to privacy.
It also asks that the channels, as well as social media platforms, to "refrain from making or publishing irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks against Bollywood and its members".
The Film and Television Producers Guild of India (PGI) and Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) have also joined the suit.
This has sparked many reactions from people on social media, making #BollywoodStrikesBack trend on Twitter.
Actress Kangana Ranaut, who reportedly alleged the use of drugs at Bollywood parties and the prevalence of nepotism in the film industry, also reacted strongly to it.
Many celebrities have appreciated the move taken by the industry collectively.
The Bollywood superstars came together to fight alleged media slander has come days after India's independent TV watchdog slapped a $1,366 fine on a channel last Thursday. It also asked three other channels to apologise for their insensitive reporting and sensationalisation of Sushant's death.
The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) censured the Hindi channels Aaj Tak, Zee News, and News 24 for running insensitive tag lines that had the effect of violating the privacy and affecting the dignity of the deceased.