The song of a yet-to-be-released Hindi film has got players of India Inc. seeing red.
Lines from this song make references to big corporate houses, including Birla, the Tatas, the Ambanis, as being “bloodsuckers”. The song carries overtones of the popular anti-corruption mood prevailing in the country.
Chakravyuh , by filmmaker Prakash Jha, has a song that goes:
“Birla ho ya Tata, Ambani ho ya Bata, Sabne apne chakkar mein des ko hai kaata. Are humre hi khoon se inka Engine chale dhakadhak . [Be it Birla or Tata, Ambani or Bata, everyone has exploited the nation for their own benefits; their engine runs on our blood].”
While some industrial houses have taken issue with the song’s lyrics, others have laughed it away. Some industry chambers have condemned it.
‘Improper, uncalled-for’
“It is wrong, extremely derogatory, improper and uncalled for,” said Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) president Niranjan Hiranandani.
While the Birlas are considering action, officials did not state whether they would sue the filmmaker for defamation.
An Aditya Birla group spokesperson quoted group legal head Ashok Gupta as saying: “Such lines are in poor taste. It casts [aspersions] on the credibility of the filmmaker. We will take up the matter with the concerned authority.”
While the Tata Group declined to comment on this matter, people close to the group said 66 per cent of Tata Sons is held by trusts; therefore 66 per cent of the group’s profits goes towards philanthropy — in 2010-11, Rs.770 crore was donated by the Tatas, they said.
The Ambani brothers too have also maintained silence, preferring not to give any importance to this.
Laugh it off: Kakkar
Ad-film director Prahlad Kakkar believes that the reaction by the industry houses and associations have given undue publicity to the movie. “The more they [corporates] react, the more will be the publicity for the movie. They should laugh if off rather than giving it any importance. That should be the best strategy,” Mr. Kakkar said.
Mr. Hiranandani said the filmmaker should not be asked to delete the derogatory part as it would not serve any purpose.
“The damage has already been done.”
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is reportedly unhappy with the development. “I have not heard this song. From whatever I gather, this [the lyric] is neither appropriate nor correct at all,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
