Maha CM will write to PM about portrayal of Bollywood in bad light: Malik

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the portrayal of Bollywood in a bad light in the wake of recent raids by the NCB which could affect the livelihood of the people dependent on that industry, NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, Malik said he had apprised the chief minister and state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil about the current happenings.

"CM Thackeray informed me that he is concerned about the image of the Hindi film industry being portrayed in such a negative way. He is going to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this. The drug haul cases have maligned the image of the film industry," said Malik.

The NCP spokesperson has levelled a string of allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and the raids conducted by the federal anti-drug agency, including the one on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested.

The chief minister's concerns are not about only 3-4 actors in the industry. After Hollywood, Bollywood is the biggest film industry. It offers jobs and employment to lakhs of people. If the industry is portrayed in a bad light, people could lose their livelihood. Hence the chief minister is going to write about it to PM Modi, Malik said, adding that the film industry's contribution to the country's GDP is around 3-4 per cent.

Responding to a query, Malik said no discussion was held during his meetings with the CM and Walse Patil about the caste certificate of Sameer Wankhede.

Malik had released a purported birth certificate of Wankhede and claimed that his father's actual name is Dawood Wankhede and not Dnyandev Wankhede, which he had dropped after converting to Islam.

Sameer Wankhede had denied all allegations.