'This so-called trend of giving money in the disguise of marketing a film to ensure good 'hype' is created or else 'they' will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released) until you pay 'them' money feels like a kind of extortion.'
A day before the release of her husband Aditya Dhar's big release, Dhurandhar, Yami Gautam Dhar took to social media to speak up against 'paid reviews' of movies, which tend to decide their box office fate.
'There is something I've been wanting to express since really long, I feel today is that day & I must.
'This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good 'hype' for a film is created or else 'they' will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay 'them' money feels nothing but kind of extortion.
'Just because this arrangement is accessible to anyone -- whether to 'hype' a film or spread negativity against another actor/a film is a plague that is going to affect the future of our industry in a big way.
'Unfortunately if anyone feels it's harmless & let's do it because it's the new 'normal', is mistaken. This monster of a 'trend' is eventually going to bite everyone. If truth is exposed about a million things under the garb of who & what 'success' is over the past 5 years esp, unfortunately it's not going to be a pretty picture for many.
'In South no one can dare do such things because the industry stands united on lot of fronts.
'I urge our esteemed producers, directors & actors to come together in order to arrest this termite of a culture at this stage itself & discourage it.
'I say this as a wife of an extremely honest man who has given everything to this film with his undying hard-work, vision & grit along with his team to create something that I know India shall be proud of.
'I say this as a deeply concerned member of the fraternity who, like many other industry professionals, wishes to see Indian cinema blossom with its best potential & not the other way around.
'Let's not kill the joy of film making & presenting it to the world & letting the audience decide what they feel. We need to protect our industry environment. #Chardikalaa #JaiMataDi #Dhurandar'
Yami found support in her Kaabil co-star Hrithik Roshan, who posted, 'More than anything, the golden thing that gets lost and leaves them and all of us impoverished is the journalists true voice, a chance for them to inform all the creative forces behind a movie what they felt, thought, what they applaud and criticise.
'Only true opinions have the potential where feedback helps us evolve. Their own right to freedom gets unknowingly usurped and so does our chance of growth. Without freedom of expression, without the truth helping us evolve, what job satisfaction can they or any of us hope for?'
Dhurandhar is already reeling under a lot of controversy.
Major Mohit Sharma's family filed a case in the Delhi High Court stating that the film is inspired by the late major's life and made without the family's consent.
The CBFC recently granted permission to the film's release, stating it is a work of fiction with no factual or biographical connection to Major Sharma.
The film's leading man Ranveer Singh had his own brush with controversy when he mimicked Rishab Shetty's performance in Kantara: Chapter 1 and called the 'daiva' deity a 'female ghost'.
A complaint has been filed against the actor.
Dhurandhar, also starring Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna and Sanjay Dutt, is scheduled to release on December 5.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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