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FWICE issue statement in protest of leaked video of Rishi Kapoor in ICU

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees recently issued a statement in protest against the Sir HN Reliance hospital after a video of the late Rishi Kapoor in ICU was leaked online.

Taking on Twitter, Ashoke Pandit, President of Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) posted the statement online and captioned, “@fwice_mum raises protest over viral video of #RishiKapoor ji in ICU at HN hospital.The video is unethical -without permission &violates fundamental right to live with dignity-privacy of a legend who lived a glorious & dignified life& loved ,regarded , held in high esteem by all.”

The statement read, “We have come across a video footage being widely circulated on WhatsApp on 30.4.2020. The video footage appears to be taken inside the ICU of your hospital where the legendary artist Mr. Rishi Kapoor was hospitalised on 29.4.2020 and died on 30.4.2020 at 8.45 am. The video footage also shows an attending nurse with the patient in the ICU. The Video footage leaves no element of doubt that it has been taken in a clandestine manner without the permission of the patient or his family members.”

FWICE had also compared it to the incident of the same happening during Vinod Khanna’s last moments which had also caused a huge uproar at the time. The statement went on, “The video footage of Mr. Rishi Kapoor would show that the ethical medical practices have not been followed and have in fact been compromised and the administration of the hospital is not being carried out in a proper manner. We therefore request you to immediately initiate an in-depth enquiry to ascertain as to how such incident has happened in your hospital and to fix responsibility and to initiate strict action. The aforesaid enquiry be completed in 15 days with intimation in writing to us about the action taken. We hereby convey that should you not take any action as requested we shall be forced to take suitable legal action as we may be advised.”

On receiving the letter, the hospital have since issued their own statement explaining that they will be investigating the case. “It has come to our attention that a video of one of our patients is surfacing on digital media platforms. At Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, patient confidentiality and privacy is of utmost importance to us and we strongly condemn such actions. The hospital management is investigating the incident and strict action will be taken against the perpetrators,” it read.

After a two-year battle with leukaemia, Kapoor breathed his last on 30th April. With the lockdown in place, his funeral was attended by a small number of family members, and people from all over the industry expressed their grief through social media platforms.