The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested comedian Bharti Singh following seizure of ganja (cannabis) from her house in suburban Andheri. Bharti's husband Harsh Limbachiya was aso taken into custody after the couple admitted their role in drug consumption. Speaking on the issue, Bhart's former co-star and fellow comedian Raju Srivastav has expressed his shock on the entire episode. The actor said, “Can Bharti or her husband Harsh do something like this? My heart is not ready to accept it. What is this? People love you so much, millions of people call you their idol, put your photos on their mobiles, hang them in their homes. They want to be like you and they have been tricked. What is the need to do all of this? It’s not like taking drugs will make you good comedians, or it will give you energy. I am so sad. I was here to defend her on your show, that our Bharti is not like that and that she is a pure artist. But now I see the news that Bharti has been arrest, she has confessed, the police got proof and confiscated ganja from her home. What is even happening? What kind of comedy is this? Where is our film world going?”
“Every time me, Sunil, Kapil gather, we talk about how a female comedian became so big after so long. She is doing such good work and has opened the line for so many women. Long time ago, there was Tuntun. There was a long gap between that time and then there was Bharti and she became so popular. We were so happy about how she is doing good work,” Raju said.Raju further added, “All this artists, Bharti, Shraddha (Kapoor) and others, if they have free time that they do not know what to do with and start taking drugs, start working on keeping yourself fit. There is so much to do. You are artists, you appear on the big screen. Do you yoga, exercise. If you have time, do theatre, watch good movies.” Shraddha was also questioned by the NCB in the drugs case in September.
Raju said that when he was invited to Bharti’s wedding, he had a good time with the couple. He never doubted if Bharti was being her usual happy self or was under any influence. He added that perhaps the NCB has been tricked by a drug peddler who took Bharti’s name to get the agency off his back. Recalling how he would be invited to film parties before and he would see consumption around him, he says, “I would doubt, as the atmosphere would be suspicious. People would go to the bathroom a lot of times, and I asked someone, they said ‘for maal’. In Kanpur, where I hail from, maal means money. But when I went to check, there was a lot of smoke all around. There wasn’t any proof though, and I would think it’s cigarettes. Now that things are unravelling, my attention goes there.” A Mumbai court will hear the bail pleas of comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiya today