One of the pitfalls of being a celebrity is that you are not spared some diginty even during your most trying times. Rishi Kapoor, one of Bollywood’s legends and a favorite actor for millions of film buffs across the world, passed away three days ago. But while the world was in mourning, a video did the rounds of the internet which showed a young boy in a selfie recording chatting away with an extremely ill Rishi. It was said to have been shot a day before his death but fact checkers proved it wrong. It was a relatively old video shot by a ward boy when Rishi was in hospital but released only recently with a false narrative. 

The utterly shocking unethical and  illegal video shot by  the ward boy at the hospital violates the  actor’s private space on so many levels, it is  a straight case of a law-breaking public servant  misusing his power for self-advancement.

According to sources, close to the Kapoor family they are  looking at  taking legal action against  the offender. “Right now the family is in a different  frame of mind. But once there is some respite  from  the tragedy on hand they will certainly take action  against the  ward  boy,” a source  close to the Kapoors  informs.

The source also wonders if the man seeing haranguing the terminally ill icon on his deathbed in such a high-end hospital is actually a wardboy.   “Could it be someone simply strolling in casually,  maybe another patient’s visitor who saw a golden opportunity of  instant fame? Because ward boys are trained to  care for the sick not harass them,” asks the source.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is  horrified by this blatant invasion of privacy. “This is what the era of social-media exposure has done to us. It has killed our conscience and turned us into vultures. What this  fellow has done is disgusting. He should be  prosecuted.”

Producer Pahlaj Nihlani rightly wonders, “If this can happen to someone like Rishi Kapoor, what indignities must the less privileged have to suffer in their death beds?”

Singer and  central minister Baabul Supriyo thinks this violation of privacy  must be punished. “I  don’t know if arresting him  is a possibility. Mobile phones have contaminated the term privacy for life !! Not only him, all the other ward boys seen in the video, who didn’t stop him from committing that immoral act, should be punished. Hospitals should actually have a zero tolerance policy for such acts and  the ward boys may very well be sacked for good. He should be suspended for a month without salary and   then transferred to the office of the hospital. He doesn’t deserve to be in the ICU or Medical Ward.”

Singer Adnan Sami is  livid. He says,  “He should be punched in the throat and the hospital should take strict action against him for this – in fact the hospital should be sued for this and made an example out of for all hospitals to take cognisance of the fact that serious consequences would occur if such a disgusting unprofessional and unethical act ever takes place again! What happened to patient-doctor confidentiality? WTF! “

We  fans and friends  of Rishi Kapoor  sincerely advocate  strong  judicial measures against such brutal violation of  a dying individual’s private  space.