MUMBAI, MAY 31: Is it a crime to be irreverent? Not necessarily. But Pahlaj Nihalani, it seems, has lost his funny bone. Frowning on the jibes that television anchor Shekhar Suman reserves for one and all on his show Movers & Shakers, Nihalani has written to him and Sony TV saying the show has hurt the sentiments of the industry, which depends on its image.Nihalani, president of the Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers (AMPTPP), said the television programme ``unnecessarily ridicules film personalities''. In his letter, he said: ``TV personalities, who are part of our industry, should not be ridiculing film personalities''.He added that the industry works on its image and therefore it is very detrimental for the image of celebrities when they are mocked on the small screen. ``Though these anchors may not intend to be rude when they make such jokes, they need to respect the sentiments of their seniors,'' Nihalani said. Suman, who claimed he had not received the letter but had heard about it from the media, took the remarks in his stride, saying the whole episode is quite silly. ``I don't know how to react. I think it's quite silly.'' He also defended himself saying that the jibes and remarks on the show were not written by him, and ``so they should not be regarded as my opinion''.On a more aggressive note, he added that Nihalani ought to realise that he (Suman) is as much a part of the film industry as him. ``In fact, I'm still a part of this industry - I'm currently working in Kundan Shah's next film - whereas Nihalani has not made a film for the past eight years,'' Suman said.Pointing out that the darts were not aimed at anyone in particular, Suman said he has been taking pot-shots at politicians, including the Prime Minister, on the show for the past three years, but that no one had ever complained. According to him, the comments on the show were made purely in jest and in no way constituted character assassination. ``In fact, on rare occasions when the writers go a little overboard, I personally tone down the material to ensure that nobody is hurt,'' he claimed.Suman alleged that Nihalani's reaction reflected ``a complete lack of sense of humour'' and suggested that he should take action against film glossies that print ``unmentionable gossip month after month''.Meanwhile, a representative of Sony TV said the channel head had spoken directly with Nihalani and had requested the names of those film industry people who had complained against Suman's show. ``We are waiting for the names so that we can reply to them,'' he said.Nihalani has also written to Star Plus and Zee Cinema requesting them to keep a check on their shows -Sajid No 1 and Ikke Pe Ikka, respectively - whose anchor Sajid Khan has also taken pot-shots at the film industry's expense.
