Mumbai: Superstar Akshay Kumar on Saturday made a heartfelt appeal to fans as well as the media to not paint every film personality with the same brush, addressing the coverage of drug probe in relation to actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. In an almost four-minutes-long video, the 53-year-old actor said that drug issue exists in Bollywood, like any other industry, but one shouldn’t assume that every person in the profession is part of the problem. Today, I’m talking to you with a heavy heart. I want to say so many things in the past few weeks but there is so much negativity everywhere. “We may be called stars, but Bollywood has been created because of your love. We are not just an industry, but through our films, we have showcased Indian values and culture throughout the world, Akshay said. The actor added that cinema has always been a reflection of the society, raising pertinent issues like corruption, poverty or unemployment, and will continue to do so. Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) is probing the alleged Bollywood drug-nexus and has till now arrested Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and some suspected drug peddlers.
The federal agency has also questioned Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan as a part of the investigation. Amid the probe, Bollywood has faced wrath of many on social media and various other platforms for being a negative influence on cinema fans. Akshay believes the series of events following the death of Rajput in June has pushed everyone in the film industry to introspect. The actor said he won’t deny that there are some in the industry who may be doing illegal things, but most of the people will cooperate with the investigation. I’ll be a liar if I say that this problem does not exist in our industry. It exists, just like every industry. But every person in every profession is not involved in such problems. This is impossible. Drugs is a legal matter and I’m totally confident that our law enforcement authorities and courts will conduct a fair investigation into this issue. I know this for a fact that every person from the film industry will cooperate with them in this investigation. It is my request, don’t don’t look at the whole industry with same lens. This is not right, he said. The actor requested the members of the media to not indulge in insensitive and irresponsible coverage as even a single negative issue can damage an artiste’s hard-earned reputation. I want to request the media that they continue doing their jobs and raising their voices but with sensitivity. One piece of negative issue can damage a person’s reputation that they built over the years after a lot of hard work.
Akshay said the star status many enjoy in the industry is a result of the love fans shower on them and his aim will always be to change for the better. My message to all the fans is that you all have made us and we will not let your faith go in vain. If you are upset with us, then we will work extra hard so as to get rid of our flaws. We will win your love and trust. We are because of you. Last month Producers Guild of India, which has 136 members including biggies like Aditya Chopra, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan and Vishal Bhardwaj, criticised media for “peddling” what it termed “clickbait journalism”.
