Suniel Shetty urges Yogi to help in ending 'Boycott B’wood' trend

MUMBAI: Suniel Shetty recently met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and urged him to help the industry get rid of the 'Boycott Bollywood' trend.

On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met members of the Bollywood fraternity in Mumbai, Suniel Shetty, Subhash Ghai, Jackie Shroff, Rajkumar Santoshi, Manmohan Shetty, singer Kailash Kher, and Boney Kapoor were in attendance.

During the discussion, Suniel Shetty put forward some of the grievances before the Chief Minister. He said, "Hashtag 'BoycottBollywood' can stop with your help. It's important to convey that we've done good work. There can be one rotten apple but 99 per cent of us don't indulge in any wrongdoing. We've to change this perception. If you take lead and also talk to PM, it will make a difference."

The hashtag 'Boycott Bollywood' started trending after actor Sushant Singh Rajput's demise. However, in 2022, netizens reignited the trend before the release of many films like 'Laal Singh Chaddha', 'Liger', 'Brahmastra', and 'Raksha Bandhan'. The trend affected the box-office business of some of the films.

Right before the release of 'Laal Singh Chaddha,' Twitter users started trending the hashtag #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha, asking people to not watch the movie. At first, it looked harmless, just a group of trolls creating some hysteria around the film, however, when the film was declared a box office flop, people realised the seriousness.

Some Twitter users went through the archives and dug up Aamir's controversial "India's growing intolerance" statement and circulated it on the micro-blogging site. Some of Kareena's controversial statements from the past also surfaced online.

Films like 'Liger', and 'Brahmastra' were also called out by many for boycotting however, 'Brahmastra' did very good business at the box office, emerging as one of the highest-grossing films of 2022.

Talking about Yogi Adityanath, he welcomed the film fraternity to Uttar Pradesh saying that the contribution of the Indian cinema in giving a direction to society is valuable.

Yogi Adityanath said, "I am delighted to witness the interest of the cinema fraternity in Uttar Pradesh. UP received Special Mention Award as Most Film Friendly State at the 64th National Film Festival and Most Film Friendly State at the 68th Film Festival in 2020 due to your efforts. The state also received an award in the International Film Festival in Goa (2021) and in Mumbai in 2022 as well."

"Small towns have also been connected with big metros. Today 9 airports are active. Airports in Chitrakoot and facility of air connectivity will also be provided in Sonbhadra and other places that were considered distant," he said.

"All of you have been witness to the changes that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh in the last 05-06 years. Uttar Pradesh, which was facing an identity crisis five years ago, is telling a new story of development today," Yogi added.

Highlighting the upcoming places of attraction in UP, Yogi said that the forts in Bundelkhand are associated with history.

"Along with security for film shooting, you will also get the facility of connectivity in UP. It is our responsibility to preserve and promote heritage," he said.

The Chief Minister said that the government is building Film City at such a place from where the distance of Mathura-Vrindavan by road can be covered easily.

Asia's biggest international airport Jewar is being built there.

He also called upon the directors, actors and producers to help the government in getting the state technologically advanced in the field.

The CM said that in the film policy of UP, arrangements will be made for a 50 per cent subsidy for the web series shot in the state and the government will work towards giving a rebate of 25 per cent on the cost for web films.

"We are going to set up a music institution in Hariharpur. To increase development, the vision of PM Modi, Film City will work to enhance the concept of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'," he said.

Talking about the GIS that will be held in Lucknow from February 10 to 12, Yogi said, "Huge investment is expected in the state. The state government will give all possible cooperation in terms of producing good films."