On Friday, February 4, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath spoke about the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ campaign and the controversy around it along with the upcoming film city in Uttar Pradesh.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, UP CM discussed Uttar Pradesh’s film city project in Noida and the cancel culture around Bollywood.
When asked by anchor Rahul Kanwal about the progress in the Noida film city project and Bollywood, CM Yogi said, “In regard to the film city project, I recently had a conversation with film actors, directors, and producers in Mumbai. Things are moving in the right direction and you will see a world-class film city developed in UP.”
When asked if there exist two types of Bollywood—one the existing one and the second, the Yogi Adityanath’s Bollywood, the UP CM said, “We are here to unite, not divide, the film city in UP will bring everyone together.”
About the Boycott campaigns faced by actors and Bollywood, Yogi Aditynath said, “I have always said that artists should be respected but the film directors should also make sure that the sentiments of the people are also respected. Besides, a Talibani culture cannot prevail in a state like UP. UP is UP, it is India’s heart and it will move ahead in its own way.”
Earlier in January, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister was in Mumbai on a two-day visit to discuss shooting and investment prospects in Noida Film City. During an interactive session there actor Suniel Shetty had urged CM Yogi to take the initiative and help Bollywood eradicate the stigma around it. He also asked CM Yogi to speak to Prime Minister Modi about it.
“Today, if I am Suniel Shetty, it is because of UP and the fans from there. This is very likely if you take the initiative. It is important that we remove the stigma that has been placed on us. It’s a very strong feeling for me. It pains me to tell you that we have this stigma but 99% of us are not like that. We don’t do drugs all day, and we don’t do not do wrong work. We are associated with good work. Bollywood music and our stories have connected India with the rest of the world. So, Yogi ji, if you take the initiative and speak with our beloved Prime Minister about it, it will make a significant difference,” Shetty had said.
This comes after boycott campaigns against some film actors and their movies as well as calls for boycotting Bollywood completely have been on the rise. It is worth noting that the BoycottBollywood hashtag first became mainstream following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020, which sparked debate about the industry’s nepotism and the gate-keeping attitude of top production houses. Since then many films have faced the impact of the boycott campaign the worst of which was suffered by Aamir Khan’s ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’.
