The cobra is back to sting and this time, the news agency had released an expose called ‘Operation Karaoke’ which shows the alleged involvement of three dozen Bollywood celebrities willing to accept large sums of money in exchange of propagating messages in favour of political parties and make it look like it is their personal opinion.
The 36 celebrities “stung” by Cobrapost are:
Playback singers: Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Kailash Kher, Mika Singh and Baba Sehgal
Actors: Jackie Shroff, Shakti Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Sonu Sood, Ameesha Patel, Mahima Chaudhry, Shreyas Talpade, Puneet Issar, Surendra Pal, Pankaj Dheer and his son Nikitin Dheer, Tisca Chopra, Deepshikha Nagpal, Akhilendra Mishra, Rohit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Salim Zaidi, Rakhi Sawant, Aman Verma, Hiten Tejwani and his wife Gauri Pradhan, Evelyn Sharma, Minissha Lamba, Koena Mitra, Poonam Pandey, Sunny Leone
Comedians: Raju Srivastava, Sunil Pal, Rajpal Yadav, Upasana Singh, Krushna Abhishek and Vijay Ishwarlal Pawar
Choreographer: Ganesh Acharya and Dancer: Sambhavana Seth.
The above-mentioned celebrities have allegedly agreed to the offer made by Cobrapost and all of these have a widespread reach over lakhs of followers on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Amidst the entire episode, four celebrities have been an exception, i.e. when they were approached by Cobrapost undercover reporters, they refused to take any part in the propaganda exercise. Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Raza Murad, and Saumya Tandon are the ones who turned down the ‘offer’.
Cobrapost disguised as a Public Relations (PR) agency and approached these celebrities through respective representatives. Now, these agents would provide the celebrities with a brief of what they expected them to do. The celebrities were told to post messages from their social media accounts and pose them as their personal opinions. The news agency has claimed that the celebrities were ready to take large sums of money in return for the exercise and majorly, they were willing to accept cash.
Cobrapost’s proxy PR agency made it clear that the entire exercise was not an official campaign for a political party but a backdoor agenda-driven pre-election tactic. The new agency claimed that while all of them agreed to cooperate, some of them were even willing to tweet without being paid. They had boasted that they had indulged in such practices earlier and knew the process.
The exercise consisted of making favourable amendments to the content on social media, to defending the political parties on controversial issues such as rape, infrastructure failures etc. Cobrapost further added that several celebrities were ready to even sign a dummy contract whereas some of them wanted to keep it a secret.
According to Cobrapost: “The names of political parties were used, in good faith and public interest, for narrative purpose only, and this is not an insinuation of their actual involvement in the practice. The investigation was made to expose the celebs willing to endorse a political agenda in return for monetary gains.”
Here’s a quick explanation by Cobrapost about #OperationKaraoke:
The money offers ranged from ₹2 lakh to ₹50 lakh per message. Actors such as Sonu Sood allegedly demanded ₹20 crore for an eight-month contract and promised to deliver whatever was required of him. On the other hand, actress Minissha Lamba agreed to accept the payment in cash. Talking to the undercover agents, Lamba was told that 80-90 per cent of her payment would be in cash while 10-20 per cent would be ‘white’ so the PR agency can show it for GST etc.
According to a major development for the operation, some actors went on to refer to other actors – and in some cases, even family members – who they thought were capable for the exercise. Like Surendra Pal, the Dronacharya from Mahabharat put undercover Cobrapost reporters in touch with Puneet Issar and Upasana Singh. Likewise, Hiten Tejwani brought his wife Gauri Pradhan in the gig whereas Pankaj Dheer roped in his son Nikitin and daughter-in-law Kratika to be included for the exercise.
Majority of the celebrities in question were present in the room at the time of negotiations whereas some of them were routed and fixed through their managers. The Cobrapost video of Abhijeet shows how he refuses to criticise West Bengal and the Trinamool Congress stating that majority of his bread and butter is from there only.
Kailash Kher is also seen in his video saying that his agency knows about it and will tell them (reporters) everything and they should just talk with them. Comedian Sunil Pal even provided the reporters with a live demo of how he would mock Rahul Gandhi on his shows. Whereas Vivek Oberoi, who is sitting in his vanity van, is seen explaining how to create a ‘ripple effect’ by posting messages on social media.
While veteran actor Jackie Shroff is seen in the video demanding more money, Sunny Leone allegedly says in ‘Operation Karaoke’ that she would support BJP if her husband was given a citizen status. As per Cobrapost, actor Ameesha Patel wanted payments in advance before she started tweeting. Celebrity Rakhi Sawant during her meeting with Cobrapost’s undercover reporters at an Oshiwara-based restaurant in Mumbai claimed to have received an offer from Rajnath ji ‘last time’. She also said that she knew about the illegal nature of these contracts.
#OperationKaraoke: Jackie Shroff says how it’s part of the game to keep such secrets “Wo game hota hai apna-apna yaar … apna kaam hai hum acchi baatein hum faila rahe hain, saath mein Dhan bhi de rahe hain toh oopar waale se faqir kya maangta hai” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/u5xI80Tr9H
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Bollywood playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya offers to make incendiary videos that would make viewers’ blood boil: “Wo mera video lijiye aap statement live … paanch-paanch minute teen-teen chaar minute ke khoon khaulane wala video lijiye” pic.twitter.com/J1S7L9e37j
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Sunny Leonne has a condition of granting her husband Overseas Citizenship to support BJP: “Modi Sir ne Daniel ko overseas citizen banaya toh hum zaroor support karenge.” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/nGGw0OonRy
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Bollywood baddy Shakti Kapoor has No confusion, He demands Rs.1 crore a month: “Aap batao na maine toh bola 9 Crore, ek Crore per Mahina… aapne Twitter ka baat kiya, Facebook ka baat kiya aur Instagram ka” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/komXjnQQY9
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
Kailash Kher tells us that his agency will handle the Commercial aspects of the Deal, with a hidden agenda: “Haan, Hidden mein bhi wo batayenge commercial hum Nahi batayenge. Hum bas Haan ya Na kar sakte hain, ki ye kaam hum kar payenge ya Nahi kar payenge” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/RtiG1cXnKL
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Why not make a small tweet on NRC in Assam? Mika is willing to help “Sahi baat … Main chahta hoon ki aap mujhe uska content bhej do main usko halka-fulka edit kar doonga” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/19nY15xY07
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Oberoi seeks required Data to make his messages look Factually Credible, something not paid for. “Aap data wagaireh bhi denge na...Data ke hissab se hum likh sakte hain … aisa lagna Nahi chahiye ki humein Bola gaya hai likhne ke liye” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/2SgD5TDMoN
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Any doubt? “Nahi, nahi, Bilkul nahi. I got the point” says Sonu Sood. He seeks to Increase his Fee “I feel ki jo apan 1.5 crore soch rahe hain it should be at least 2.5” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/le4U12LRh3
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: For Amisha Patel, Money is the Top Priority even before she makes some general tweets “Samajho aap 28 ko aa rahe ho, transaction ho jaata hai 28 kee sham ko main kar doongi…” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/8n0b3IrH04
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Agreeing to promote AAP on Social media, Actor & Director Shreyas Talpade asks how many Messages he is supposed to tweet, “Haan aur ye aapko kitne duration mein tweet lenge” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/aYKrG285w9
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Film Choreographer, Actor & Director Ganesh Acharya is quick to understand that he has to work on a Hidden Agenda: “Nahi main samajh gayaa aapki baat … Hidden hai” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/cNUiizGXGB
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Savant makes a revelation on how she was hired earlier for the same purpose: “Last time bhi aise hua tha mujhe hire kiya tha Rajnath ji ne pata hai” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/9iOeOushkW
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: For Dheer, Messages Have to be Effective “Wo toh circus ban jayega. Tweet aana chahiye bahut Soch samajh ke, aur bahud qayde se, aur bahut time pe jiska weight bhi ho … It should be Appreciated also” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/Dh702HtAzM
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Akhilendra Mishra demands Rs. 50 lakh a month: “Yaar main toh soch ke kuchh aur aaya tha. Paise kee baat hui thi. Main soch raha tha ki aap log kum se kum 50 lakh rupaye mahina doge” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/5EK3al44qo
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: “Dronacharya” Surendra Pal is quick to understand what the Job Entails: “Mujhe Samajh mein Poora aa gayaa hai, poora Graph sab aage ka peeche ka side ka left ka” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/3uvTd4tGGm
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Issar is ready to make Controversial tweets to destroy Political Opponents of the BJP “Main aapse discuss kar loonga … sir, ye main inki Maar sakta hoon, Destroy kar sakta hoon…we will talk the Money then” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/hXinRcHYRO
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: On approaching the Author & Actor Tisca Chopra, we enquire if she would like to Promote the AAP. Agreeing, she asks, “Kab tak karna ye ?” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/hQ8GSmwAqu
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Deepshikha Nagpal agrees to promote AAP. She seeks content to be posted on social media in her own way. “Aap mujhe Ek cheej bhejoge…Content. Usko apne Hissab se appreciate karoongi” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/9OYEoGJ56k
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Committing himself, Rohit Roy says “Theek hai done … Mail me and I will take it forward … kaise kya karoge ye abhi dekhna padega kyonki ye sab toh parhai likhai hogi nahi iski” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/zX6zTPfc2q
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: On defending the BJP, Yadav says assuringly “Itne acche se Defend karoonga ki aapki Tabiyat Khush ho jayegi” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/ljfI05ZGO9
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Comedian Sunil Pal makes a pitch, “BJP itni badi party hai kyonki inhone duniya se liya bahut hai inhone… inhone Nirav Modi ko de diya falaan ko de diya hai toh hum kalakaaron ko bhi de dein kuch” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/P5xffENtfN
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Raju Srivastava agrees to Attack leaders like Rahul Gandhi in a balanced way. Srivastava says, “Nahi wo toh main samajh gayaa direct toh hoga nahi thoda bolkar nikal gaye” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/lEdMwPVzoo
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Abhishek lays out a host of plans, including his shows, to promote the BJP. He says, “Aur agar Professionally kar raha hoon main toh fir main usko proper plan bhi karoonga” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/5mdbIr2B87
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Vijay Pawar is ready to lampoon Rahul Gandhi, “Uski maa bolegi Modiji baar-baar aap kyon jeet rahe ho. Mere khyal se Rahul bhi Modiji ko hee vote de raha hai wo bhi Modiji ko hee vote de raha hai Pappu” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/BBnBtFPUK3
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: On promoting The BJP government, Evelyn Sharma says, “I love this idea, I really like. It’s very subtle and at the same time it’s promoting country suppose to are we following, so yeah I really like this” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/WcTG5HelOR
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
Minissha Lamba is disappointed when told a part of her fee will be paid in white. “No I thought it was a mainly a cash deal toh fir jo contract banega what is going to be scope of” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/SIJPlNMHT1
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Mitra reveals she even Trolled the Delhi Chief minister, “Kejriwal ko maine thoda troll karke likha tha, unka thoda mazaak udake likha tha! Public ko bahut pasand aaya tha wo kyonki Official accounts aisa Nahi likh sakte” @ArvindKejriwal #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/3H6FuOBwcq
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Sambhavana Seth demands Rs. 50 lakh for the Job, “At least kum se kum main agar aapka itna lamba agar chalne wala hai toh main expect karoongi ki kum se kum mere paas pachaas tak to aaye” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/y9Jru0UTkH
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Salim Zaidi would not hesitate to lampoon Rahul Gandhi, using as few words as possible, “Kabhi ye aa gaya kabhi kuch aa gayaa … kum shabdon mein teer lag jaaye sateek” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/I3K3ra5acQ
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: While agreeing to promote the BJP, Upasana Singh is curious to know if she would be paid in advance, “Haan, aap pehle hee pay karte hain” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/DGk1onCwMt
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Rapper Baba Sehgal reveals, “Haan samajh gaya main. Samajh gaya main! Karte hain hum log Bahut Baari Kiya hai” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/S3ToKnnoRn
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Aman Verma is desperate to clinch the offer. He is offered Rs. 50000 per message. Verma asks, “And how is the payment going to come in?” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/n5LK45t9ri
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Tejwani @tentej makes a revelation: “Correct, Public ko Nahi pata hoga. hota hee aisa hai saara matlab ye bhi for example ye political party ka kind of promotion hai toh hum log product bhi uss tareh se promote karte hain’ #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/A0EJhn5Q3a
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Rahul Bhat is curious to know what is in store for him in the deal. He asks, “Okay hoon … toh usmein Mujhe kya milega kaise karenge” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/xFChT1m7io
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Poonam Pandey is gung ho over the proposition from the word go. She says, “Hum log basically content hum log baat karke we can sort it out wo kar sakte hain” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/YfGuOVI7SX
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
#OperationKaraoke: Mahima Chaudhry while agreeing seeks to know the Budget “Jhoot mooth ke Tweet kitna milega … kya Budget lekar aaye ho?” #BikaooBollywood pic.twitter.com/rwls1HfmKW
— Cobrapost (@cobrapost) February 19, 2019
The Bollywood actors may have influence over the followers on social media, is it okay for an artist to fabricate the public opinion for money. Also, the entire episode raises the question that if the celebrities were ready to accept 80-90 per cent of money in cash, what sort of backchannel existed for the conversion of this extent of cash.
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