Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, Dr Nilesh Rane said, "There are a lot of talented, bold and even controversial Indian artistes who are struggling to make ends meet.
I think they should be given a fair chance. I am speaking in my personal capacity and this is my personal view not party view. However, if there is any sort of agitation by the IAAF, I will give them my full support and stand by them."
Rane who is the elder son of Maharashtra Industries minister Narayan Rane came out very strongly against the policy of TV channels of paying such astronomical sums to persons who probably didn't deserve the money.
"We have so many poor, struggling yet talented actors, singers and artistes. What are the Tv channels doing to promote and support them, " he asked?
Says Rakhi Sawant, "They (the channel and the production house SOL) could have selected any other woman from India. There are so many controversial or bold and outspoken girls like Sambhavna Seth, Kashmira Shah, Poonam Pandey to name a few.
Imagine should have chosen them. There are thousands of girls in India who are trying to get roles in films and TV. Why have they selected a "sattebaaz" who has ruined the name of her own country? Once was probably ok, but now they are doing it again and again. I strongly condemn this move and join the protest."
The publicist and spokesperson for the IAAF said that the IAAF – an informal body of actors and artistes is not against one individual in particular.
"We are not against Veena Malik per se. We are against
this trend of selecting foreign artistes for common roles in Indian television and films. When certain politicians raised their voice about this, we gave them the cold shoulder, but now the time has come for every Indian
artiste to get up and take a stand. Thousands of Indian girls go through hell trying to get a bit role in a TV serial or a film. These production houses and channels must understand the sentiments and feelings of thousands of Indian artistes.
Veena Malik is no great or unique actor or artiste. Sunny Leone is a porn star. What USP do Veena Malik and Sunny Leone bring to such shows? Are we trying to send out a message to our youth that being a porn star is a commendable thing?
The channels are trying to stir up controversy and increase their own TRPs. We will ask all patriotic Indians and Indian companies to stop watching or supporting such shows This is our action plan for now. We will also approach the courts at a later date if the channels do not relent."
