Mumbai: Veteran lyricist and script writer Javed Akhtar said Tuesday the Hindi film industry is under the scanner always. This is because the film industry is ‘high profile’ in nature and it is the ‘price’ it has to pay. Javed Akhtar comments come at a time when there is a renewed attention on Bollywood and its celebrity culture. It has happened superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan was arrested in connection with a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship.
There have been voices on social media that felt the case against Aryan was a deliberate attempt to target the film industry.
Akhtar was if he feels that Bollywood is being routinely targeted with raids. “This is the price the film industry has to pay for being high profile. When you’re high profile, people have fun pulling you down, throwing muck at you. If you’re a nobody, then who has the time to throw stones at you?” Akhtar asked.
Akhtar was speaking at the launch of the book ‘Changemakers’, written by authors Almas Virani and Sweta Samota.
The 23-year-old Aryan was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) October 3 from the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
Also read: Aryan Khan to stay in jail till October 20
Without taking names, Akhtar said the superstar’s son’s case got more media attention than an alleged ‘one billion dollar’ drug recovery from a port, He was referring to the seizure of 2,988kg of heroin at Mundra Port located in Kutch district of Gujarat.
“You find cocaine worth rupees one billion dollar at a port, somewhere else there were 1,200 people where ganja and a total sum of Rs 1 lakh 30 thousand is found, according to media reports. Now this has become big national news but I haven’t seen any headline on the billion dollar cocaine…,” added Akhtar. He however, refused to elaborate when asked specifically if he feels Shah Rukh and Aryan are being targeted.
Aryan is currently lodged in Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai. A special court last week posted his and two others’ bail pleas for orders October 20.
