Patna: Actor Manoj Bajpayee has slammed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for using a doctored video of his for their election campaign. The now deleted video was also shared by former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.
The Padma Shri awardee, who was born in Bihar’s West Champaran, without naming any party, slammed the creators over unethical conduct for misusing the video that he originally shot for a streaming platform.
The doctored video, allegedly created by the IT wing of the RJD, went viral after it was shared by Tejashwi from his official X account. The video, which has been deleted amid the controversy, attempted to portray the actor’s support for the RJD.
Bajpayee, known for movies like Gangs of Wasseypur and Satya, has appealed to the public to stop spreading such distorted content and urged them not to engage with or encourage such misleading videos. The doctored clip is a distorted version of an old advertisement he filmed for Prime Video.
“I would like to publicly state that I have no association or allegiance with any political party. The video being circulated is a fake, patched-up edit of an ad I did for @PrimeVideoIN. I sincerely appeal to everyone sharing it to stop spreading such distorted content and urge people not to engage with or encourage such misleading content,” he posted on X.
In 2022, there has been much speculation after Bajpayee met RJD president Lalu Prasad at his residence to enquire about his health. That was after Lalu underwent a kidney transplant in Singapore.
Tejashwi had then shared photos of the meeting at his Patna residence. In one of the images, the national award-winning actor can be seen greeting Lalu Prasad with folded hands.
Bajpayee, when questioned about his political ambitions following his meeting with Lalu, had said he would never join politics.
“When I visited Bihar last time, I met RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav. Since then, people started speculating that I will join politics. I am 200% sure I won’t do that. Question of joining politics does not arise at all,” the actor had said.
Several leading actors have recently taken legal steps to protect their personality and publicity rights. Hrithik Roshan has obtained legal safeguards against the unauthorized commercial use of his image. Others who have similarly acted to defend their public persona include Karan Johar, Suniel Shetty, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Akshay Kumar.
