Mumbai Press Club, Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists back boycott of Kangana Ranaut, demand apology

The Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) in a statement condemned the statements Kangana Ranaut recently made on social media and also extended their support to Press Trust of India reporter Justin Rao . BUJ and the Mumbai Press Club said it echoes the demands of Entertainment Journalists Guild and demanded an apology from the actress. “The attack on journalists who dare hold independent opinions as ‘anti-national’ and ‘traitors’ to the nation is not only dangerous but of a piece with an increasingly authoritarian narrative that is unfortunately endemic in all sections of society today. This trend, which is inherently intimidatory and seeks to warn dissenters to toe the line or else…, must be stiffly combated by all those committed to democratic values,” read the statement issued by BUJ. [caption id=“attachment_6422941” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Kangana Ranaut. Image from Twitter[/caption] The Mumbai Press Club wrote that such behaviour has become part of Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel’s “unprofessional conduct”. The Club said that they analysed the event’s footage and found Rao to be “fully composed” but the actress was abusive and insulting, even though it is within a reporter’s rights to critcise her work. “Since this has been a serial problem, we will also examine the option of pressing criminal charges of abuse, defamation and intimidation against Kangana Ranaut; as well as seek civil compensation for preventing journalists from carrying on their professional work,” the club said, according to Hindustan Times. During a promotional event for her upcoming film Judgementall Hai Kya , Ranaut got into an argument with Rao and maligned him for writing negative reviews of her directorial debut Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi on Twitter. Rao told her that he had never tweeted about the film, but Ranaut accused him of calling her “a jingoistic person for making a film on nationalism.” Following this episode, the Entertainment Journalists Guild said that they had decided to boycott the actress, unless she apologised. While producer Ekta Kapoor Balaji Motion Pictures apologised  for what they termed as an “untoward incident,” Ranaut released videos on social media clarifying her stance on the matter. She said that there was a section of media that helped her grow as an actor, but the other side are, in her words, “termites” and “professional trolls.”