Bollywood / If you cannot stand up for Shilpa Shetty at least leave her alone: Hansal Mehta

Mumbai: Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is one of the few Bollywood celebrities to speak in defence of actor Shilpa Shetty. He took to Twitter on Friday, asking everyone to leave her alone.

Shilpa's husband Raj Kundra was arrested on July 19 by the Mumbai Police for his alleged connection to a pornography racket. Shilpa has been trolled online since and has even filed a lawsuit against multiple publications and social media platforms for publishing defamatory content against her.

In his tweet, Hansal said that Shilpa should be allowed her dignity and privacy. "If you cannot stand up for her at least leave Shilpa Shetty alone and let the law decide? Allow her some dignity and privacy. It is unfortunate that people in public life ultimately are left to fend for themselves and are proclaimed guilty even before justice is meted out," he wrote.

He also called out other Bollywood celebrities for not speaking up for her. "This silence is a pattern. In good times everybody parties together. In bad times there is deafening silence. There is isolation. No matter what the ultimate truth the damage is already done," he said. "This vilification is a pattern. If the allegations are against a film person there is a rush to invade privacy, to pass sweeping judgement, to character-assassinate, to fill 'news' with trashy gossip - all at the cost of individuals and their dignity. This is the cost of silence," he added.

Hansal had also defended Rhea Chakraborty when she was trolled online and called names in media after the death of her boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput. Hansal wrote in a series of tweets, “Let her guilt/innocence be proved in a court of law for heaven’s sake. Last evening I met people with no remote connection to the film industry making sweeping statements and playing judge. Result of an exploitative and conscienceless media that conducts its own banana court for its own vested interests. At whose cost?”

Hearing Shilpa Shetty's defamation suit, Bombay High Court on Friday directed few media platforms to take down their contents while passing an interim order in the matter stating, "No part of this shall be constructed as a gag on media." It added that a blanket ban on content on her could lead to serious consequences on the freedom of the press.