Members of the Bollywood fraternity included Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn
Mumbai:
A meeting between Mumbai cops and representatives from Bollywood's film fraternity on Monday (November 11, 2013) was described as "extremely fruitful" by Himanshu Roy, Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police.
Mr Roy told reporters after the meeting, "At today's meet between Bollywood personalities and police the main issue was safety and security of Mumbai and how we can work together. It was a positive and an interactive approach. Extortion calls to Bollywood were not discussed. No one brought up this topic. I don't think this is such a serious issue or else it would have been mentioned today. Mumbai Police and Mumbai Crime Branch are fully capable of handling this issue."
The Commissioner of Police Dr Satyapal Singh said, "This meeting was decided a long time back. We discussed how to make Mumbai a safer place and we all know the reach of the film industry. It influences the minds of people. We were discussing avenues how the police could use their creative services. As far as threats are concerned the issue did not come up. And it did not come up because the film industry feels secure."
The meeting was attended by actor Ajay Devgan, writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, director Madhur Bhandarkar and producer Ekta Kapoor. The agenda included starlet Jiah Khan's death and the recent brawl in Mumbai's famous Filmalaya Studios.
Police chief Satyapal Singh said that they would follow the High Court's directions in investigating Jiah Khan's death. The 25-year-old Nishabd star was found hanged in her home on the night of June 3. Her former boyfriend and aspiring actor Suraj Pancholi was arrested for abetting her suicide and spent some weeks in prison. Last month, the Bombay High Court ordered that Jiah's death be further investigated.
Mr Singh also said that the suspects in the Filmalaya attack had been arrested. Filmalaya was attacked in October by men who allegedly forced their way in and disrupted a martial arts session that was taking place. Speaking on the portrayal of women in films, screenplay writer Javed Akhtar said "The film industry is not a monolith. It is not that every film portrays men women or any segment of society in one way."
Screenplay writer Salim Khan, whose son Salman Khan is an accused in a hit-and-run case that is being investigated by the Mumbai police was sitting next to the Commissioner at the post event press conference said, "Anyone who criticizes the Mumbai police should look at other state. Nowhere is there so much respect for the police as much as there is in Mumbai and Maharashtra."
Mr Singh hoped that the Mumbai Police would continue to engage with the film industry, saying: I believe this interaction will continue. Our aim is the same, to maintain peace and harmony here in Mumbai."
But with so many policemen and their on-screen characters present, parallels had to be drawn. Actor Ajay Devgan said, "The best part of Singham was there was not only one Singham but towards the climax of the film you see every cop becoming a Singham and getting together. And if there was a villain in the film it was the politician and it showed the kind of pressure the police sometimes face."
Mr Roy told reporters after the meeting, "At today's meet between Bollywood personalities and police the main issue was safety and security of Mumbai and how we can work together. It was a positive and an interactive approach. Extortion calls to Bollywood were not discussed. No one brought up this topic. I don't think this is such a serious issue or else it would have been mentioned today. Mumbai Police and Mumbai Crime Branch are fully capable of handling this issue."
The Commissioner of Police Dr Satyapal Singh said, "This meeting was decided a long time back. We discussed how to make Mumbai a safer place and we all know the reach of the film industry. It influences the minds of people. We were discussing avenues how the police could use their creative services. As far as threats are concerned the issue did not come up. And it did not come up because the film industry feels secure."
The meeting was attended by actor Ajay Devgan, writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, director Madhur Bhandarkar and producer Ekta Kapoor. The agenda included starlet Jiah Khan's death and the recent brawl in Mumbai's famous Filmalaya Studios.
Police chief Satyapal Singh said that they would follow the High Court's directions in investigating Jiah Khan's death. The 25-year-old Nishabd star was found hanged in her home on the night of June 3. Her former boyfriend and aspiring actor Suraj Pancholi was arrested for abetting her suicide and spent some weeks in prison. Last month, the Bombay High Court ordered that Jiah's death be further investigated.
Mr Singh also said that the suspects in the Filmalaya attack had been arrested. Filmalaya was attacked in October by men who allegedly forced their way in and disrupted a martial arts session that was taking place. Speaking on the portrayal of women in films, screenplay writer Javed Akhtar said "The film industry is not a monolith. It is not that every film portrays men women or any segment of society in one way."
Screenplay writer Salim Khan, whose son Salman Khan is an accused in a hit-and-run case that is being investigated by the Mumbai police was sitting next to the Commissioner at the post event press conference said, "Anyone who criticizes the Mumbai police should look at other state. Nowhere is there so much respect for the police as much as there is in Mumbai and Maharashtra."
Mr Singh hoped that the Mumbai Police would continue to engage with the film industry, saying: I believe this interaction will continue. Our aim is the same, to maintain peace and harmony here in Mumbai."
But with so many policemen and their on-screen characters present, parallels had to be drawn. Actor Ajay Devgan said, "The best part of Singham was there was not only one Singham but towards the climax of the film you see every cop becoming a Singham and getting together. And if there was a villain in the film it was the politician and it showed the kind of pressure the police sometimes face."
