Jaya Bachchan defends Bollywood in Parliament: Kangana Ranaut, Sonam Kapoor react

It’s not easy being Bollywood royalty Jaya Bachchan today. On one hand, the Samajwadi Party member and actress is being lauded for taking a stand against the deliberate demonisation of Bollywood by her own peers, and on the other hand, she’s being slammed by Kangana Ranaut and the actress’ fans for condoning the alleged debauchery in the Hindi entertainment industry.

Here’s a look at the polarising and extreme reactions at her speech at the ongoing Monsoon Session at the Rajya Sabha on September 15 urging the central government to protect Bollywood’s reputation and not generalise by tarnishing the industry in broad strokes.

Kangana Ranaut: As expected, Ranaut, who claimed that 99 per cent of Bollywood stars rely on drugs to survive, didn’t agree with the recent show of bravado from the Bachchan matriarch. “Jayaji would you say the same thing if in my place it was your daughter Shweta beaten, drugged and molested as a teenager, would you say the same thing if Abhishek complained about bullying and harassment constantly and found hanging one day? Show compassion for us also,” tweeted Ranaut as soon as Bachchan’s video of her standing up for Bollywood’s reputation started doing the rounds. Many social media users also questioned the selective outrage displayed by Bachchan.

Taapsee Pannu: The ‘Manmarziyaan’ star is impressed with Bachchan’s stand and tweeted: “For we have always stood by the initiatives, causes and awareness campaigns. It’s time for payback. Hitting the nail on its head and how! yet again a woman from the industry spoke up #Respect.” She also posted the video of Bachchan batting for Bollywood.

Farhan Akhtar: Another Rhea Chakraborty supporter, Farhan Akhtar, claimed that Jaya Bachchan has always stood her ground on issues that mattered. “Respect. She has always stood up to be counted when it mattered. #JayaBachchan.”

Anubhav Sinha: Tweeting in Hindi, Sinha bowed down to Bachchan for displaying a spine in this issue. “I send my best regards to Jaya Ji. Those who don’t know, please see this is how the spinal cord looks,” tweeted Sinha in Hindi.

Nagma: The actress and politicians threw her weight behind Bachchan and tweeted: “I stand with JayaBachchan as Kangana Ranaut put it Bollywood is a Gutter so JayaJi said that Jis thali mein khate hai ussi mein ched nahi karte [roughly translated as - you don’t spit on the plate that you eat] And those who have made a name here don’t spoil the name of Bollywood, as for drugs they made fleeting comments if they know names name them.”

Sonam Kapoor: This actress, who has tweeted her support for Rhea Chakraborty and the media trial that ensued, is a staunch Jaya Bachchan fan now. “I want to be her when I grow up,” tweeted Kapoor along with a screen grab of the video.

Nikhil Dwivedi: The producer and actor believes that an entire industry shouldn’t be tainted based on the deeds of an immoral few. ”#JayaBachchan is right. A false narrative tht a certain malaise infects the entire #FilmIndustry is being created by few to look good in these times. A percentage of people in any field including politics & journalism indulge in things illegal or immoral. Call them out specifically and not all,” he tweeted.