Mumbai: Prakash Jha, filmmaker-producer has taken a dig at some renowned Bollywood actors for endorsing pan masala brands. He said that they don’t have a particular reason to care about the content of their films as they have Rs 50 crores in their bank accounts after endorsing a pan masala brand. “What are these legendary actors doing?” he questioned.
In an interview with ETimes, Prakash said, “There are five or six actors who will never work in one of my films because they are busy minting money from guthka ads.”
He said that the ads done by the popular actors have a real impact on the public. He narrated a story about a school principal who had asked him, “What are you guys doing in the Mumbai film industry?” According to the principle, because of the big hoardings of stars endorsing pan masala brands, the children in the area had developed bad habits.
Talking about the declining quality of recent Bollywood films, Jha said, “A star will not bother about the content when he knows that he has already made Rs 400 crore after signing on to four films.”
Although, he further stated, “Anyway, an actor is not a content producer. It’s the writer and director. If that writer and director take time then they can create something good.”
When asked about the boycott trends, the director said that when you have a good story to tell, there is no need to be bothered about any trends. “You can’t make real films in the corporate world of films and TV. Sirf bakwaas banta hai.” He highlighted that when an actor makes three films a year, there is no time to work on the story, and said, “They get the rights to remakes. Nowadays they bring the director as well along with the remake rights,” he added.
Recently, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Ajay Devgn were trolled for their appearance in an advertisement for a pan masala brand. The internet dug out an old video of Akshay saying how he will never do a guthka ad. The actor subsequently apologized to his fans, and said, “I would like to apologise to you, all my fans and well-wishers. Your reaction over the past few days has deeply affected me. While I have not and will not endorse tobacco, I respect the outpouring of your feelings in light of my association with Vimal Elaichi. With all humility, I step back.”
