Several Bollywood celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Ekta Kapoor, Rajkumar Hirani, Kapil Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sajid Nadiadwala, among others, met and interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Change Within initiative in New Delhi, on the evening of 19 October.
The focus was on inviting the film industry to create films and television shows that popularise Mahatma Gandhi and Gandhism, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
“Gandhi is synonymous with simplicity. His thoughts reverberate far and wide. The power of creativity is immense, and it is essential to harness this spirit of creativity for our nation. Several people from the world of films and television have been doing great work when it comes to popularising the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Modi also shared the film fraternity’s video tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, featuring SRK, Aamir, Sonam Kapoor and others, on his Twitter.
Speaking about the need of the industry to come forward and make films on Gandhi that can help in the nation-building process, Shah Rukh said, “I would like to thank the Prime Minister for bringing us all together, that too for a cause such as this. I feel we need to re-introduce Gandhi ji to India and the world. The film industry can get self-obsessed and it is important we create work that is not only about business.”
Kangana Ranaut thanked the Prime Minister for including the voice of the artistes.
“Modi ji is the first Prime Minister who is so inclusive of art and artistes and the film industry. Nobody has recognised the soft power of art and artistes in the country before. From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the film industry, I thank the Prime Minister,” she said.
Producer Boney Kapoor said, “This government has always been sympathetic to the film industry right from (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee saab’s time when we were recognised as an industry. Since Mr Modi came in, he has made it a point to ensure every glitch is solved instantly.”
Several other members of the film industry, including director Anurag Basu, actor Jackie Shroff and Jacqueline spoke about the initiative.
Shah Rukh also took to Twitter to thank the PM for opening up the conversation.
Kapil Sharma shared a picture with the PM and wrote, “Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, it felt great to meet you and listen to your thoughts. I hope that under your good leadership, the country countinues to touch the sky,” he wrote, while sharing a picture with Modi.
Ekta Kapoor too shared a group picture with the Prime Minister.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)