Batting for Bollywood that has been under a cloud since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday argued for government support to the entertainment industry and slammed those tarnishing its image.
In her speech, she had used a Hindi proverb to say those defaming the industry were biting the hands that fed them.
Though Bachchan did not take any names, her speech came a day after BJP’s Lok Sabha MP and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan said there was a problem of drug addiction in the film industry.
She had also said she completely disagrees with those who term the entertainment industry a “gutter”, a term used by actor Kangana Ranaut to describe Bollywood in a tweet last month.
Now, video of a ‘highly drunk’ Shweta Bachchan has been doing rounds on social media. The fashion entrepreneur and author can be seen exiting a restaurant accompanied by her sister-in-law Natasha Nanda and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar. Watch the video below.
Since Wednesday, security has been increased outside bungalows of the Bachchans in Mumbai, after she told Parliament that the film industry was being defamed by some and asked the government to protect and support it, a police official said.
“Amitabh Bachchan already has X category security cover. After the speech (in Parliament by Jaya Bachchan), we stepped up peripheral security and increased patrolling outside their bungalows in Juhu,” the official said.
The Bachchans have ‘Jalsa’, ‘Janak’ and ‘Pratiksha’ bungalows in Juhu. They live in ‘Jalsa’ and ‘Pratiksha’.
The official said the security has been stepped up as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident in view of Jaya Bachchan’s speech.
Through a Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, Mrs Bachchan said the entertainment industry in the country provides direct employment to 5 lakh people daily and indirect employment to 5 million people.
“At a time when the financial situation is in a depressing state and employment rate at the worst levels, in order to divert the attention of people, we are being flogged by social media” and there is no support from the government, she said.
Source: Free Press Journal
