BANGALORE - Filmmaking in India has ground nearly to a halt amid the Covid-19 pandemic - but celebrities are making the kind of headlines they would not wish on their worst rivals.
Indians are watching round the clock the high-energy, low-evidence news about Bollywood's"drug cartels" - to quote TV anchors. This coverage has sparked living room discussions about drug use in the glitzy industry that makes about 400 films a year. Since late September, the narcotics agency has summoned many actors based on WhatsApp chats found on other people's phones. None of the actors summoned are accused officially.
In 2018, nearly 60 per cent of over 81,000 drug-related arrests nationwide were made for possession for personal use. Thinktank Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy found that most of those arrested in Mumbai that year were daily-wage earners.Mamta Kulkarni is one of the few actors being investigated along with her husband Vijay Goswami - who is now jailed in the USA - for being involved in a global drug cartel.
In 2001, Mumbai police arrested emerging actor Fardeen Khan for attempting to buy a gram of cocaine. The actor did a detoxification course and was granted bail with immunity in 2012.