Karan Johar, Salman Khan’s companies file defamation suit against TV channels

A defamation lawsuit has been filed in India’s high court against two TV channels for painting the Bollywood film industry as a den of drugs and crime following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Bollywood superstars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh, Aamir Khan and Karan Johar’s production companies and top producers have filed a defamation lawsuit in the Delhi High Court. It has over 30 Bollywood production houses and four industry bodies as plaintiffs and refers to the coverage of Sushant’s death.

The producers said in a statement, “The privacy of the members of Bollywood is being invaded, and their reputations are being irreparably damaged by painting the entire Bollywood as criminals, seeped in drug culture, and making being part of Bollywood as synonymous with criminal acts in the public imagination.”

They have named Republic TV and its founder Arnab Goswami, as well as Times Now, in the defamation lawsuit.

Besides the production companies of Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir and Karan Johar, those who filed the suit include The Producers Guild of India and the Screenwriters Association.