The FIR and the subesquent court ruling to summon Karan Johar, Deepika Padukone, Ranvir Singh and Arjun Kapoor for the “sexually explicit, obscene and vulgar”Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, believes there is a conspiracy at play. “Alia was a participant and also subjected to the humour. The FIR names Deepika Padukone and Alia among the participants. Why not the other 3,998 attendees of the show? More importantly, if it names celebrities in the audience, why not Sonakshi Sinha,” he asked, drawing links to the latter’s actor father and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha. Sonakshi was also seated in the audience and subjected to similar jokes by the show’s participants. “Clearly, certain forces are orchestrating this series of events. The answer is in my question,” he said.
While one section justifies the action, another is vocal in its support for their freedom of expression and of the view that administrators are “stretching the issue too far”.
Screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, also member of the Film Writers’ Association (FWA) committee, said the latest developments were dangerous and posed threat to the freedom of expression of artistes. The FWA had last week issued a letter stating that it supports AIB and the Bollywood participants who were part of the show.
