Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar said when you're high profile, people have fun pulling you down. (File)
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar today said the Hindi film industry is under the scanner because of its "high profile" nature and it is the "price" it has to pay.
The veteran writer's statement comes at a time when there is a renewed attention on Bollywood and its celebrity culture after actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan was arrested in connection with a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship.
When asked if he feels that Bollywood is being routinely targeted with raids, Mr Akhtar said, "This is the price the film industry has to pay for being high profile. When you're high profile, people have fun pulling you down, throwing muck at you. If you're a nobody, then who has the time to throw stones at you?"
Mr Akhtar was speaking at the launch of the book "Changemakers", written by authors Almas Virani and Sweta Samota.
Aryan Khan, 23, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 from the cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
Without taking names, Mr Akhtar said the superstar's son's case got more media attention than an alleged "one billion dollar" drug recovery from a port, referring to the seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin at Mundra Port located in Kutch district of Gujarat.
"You find cocaine worth Rs one billion dollar at a port, somewhere else there were 1,200 people where ganja and a total sum of Rs 1 lakh 30 thousand is found, according to media reports."
"Now this has become a big national news but I haven't seen any headline on the billion dollar cocaine...," he added.
On being asked if he feels Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan are being targeted, Mr Akhtar refused to elaborate.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)