Do modern actors have the right to defame veteran stars?
It has a trend that the style of performance of veteran actors and actresses are replicated in popular films in the last few years. The films also get success out of them. But sometimes the depiction of the veteran stars reaches defamatory level which leads to controversy.
For example Farah Khan’s film Om Shanti Om had the title song “om shanti om” where lot of veteran stars had performed along with Shahrukh Khan. It was a healthy exercise. But there was a scene where Manoj Kumar was shown entering an auditorium. He was asked for his ID proof. He showed his driving license. The photograph in the document showed that he had hidden his face by putting his fingers on his face which was done to show his acting style.
The guard could not recognize him as Manoj Kumar and did not allow him to enter the auditorium. Manoj Kumar had taken exception about it and filed suit in Bombay High Court to edit that part of the film as it was offensive. The Bombay High Court had given judgement in his favour and mentioned that scene should be edited whenever the film is shown anywhere.
Previously Shahrukh Khan had apologized to Manoj Kumar saying that he did not want to mean anything offensive. But these scenes in many films disgrace the veteran actors and actresses who had shaped bollywood films over the years.
For example Raj Kapoor’s films had created a market for Indian films in Russia and bollywood films had benefited out of them. Manoj Kumar had acted in many patriotic films like Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan, Kranti, etc. He is still respected by viewers of different ages.
The new actors like Shahrukh Khan had received many awards for best performance in India and abroad and gained popularity all over the world. They are expected to brighten the picture of bollywood before International audience instead of defaming the veteran performers who had wide contribution for Indian films.
