#MeToo in India: AIB loses lucrative deals, may dissolve soon

MUMBAI: The #MeToo movement is taking its toll on popular comedy group AIB, which has lost lucrative deals and assignments worth crores since its members were hit by charges of alleged misconduct and sexual harassment charges.

Star India’s video streaming platform 'Hotstar' has already cancelled the third season of ‘On Air with AIB’ midway. Amazon Prime Video may also terminate the deal for existing and upcoming shows with the group, people familiar with the development told ET.

On Monday, 'Hotstar' said it will not stand by anything that compromises the respect or safety of women. “In light of recent events involving AIB, we are cancelling production of ‘On Air with AIB’ Season 3, with immediate effect,” the OTT (over the top) player said in a statement.


'Hotstar' had commissioned 30 episodes for the third season of the show, which was released on September 24. However, only seven episodes were streamed so far.


AIB was also working on a digital series, ‘Gormint’ for Amazon Prime Video. Sources said the series, earlier titled ‘Ministry’, has been called off. This could not be verified independently. An email query sent to Amazon Prime Video did not elicit a response as of press time Tuesday.

Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), too, has dropped AIB's first produced film 'Chintu Ka Birthday' from its upcoming Mumbai film festival. With founding member and CEO Tanmay Bhat “stepping away” from the business “until further notice” and other founder Gursimran Khamba taking a “temporary leave of absence”, many in the industry believe AIB may get dissolved soon.

Meanwhile, just a few days after Phantom Films’ founders said they are dissolving the company over alleged sexual harassment charges against co-founder Vikas Bahl, actor Hrithik Roshan, who was part of Bahl’s directorial film ‘Super 30’, said it is impossible for him to work with any person if he/she is guilty of grave misconduct.

“I have requested the producers of ‘Super 30’ to take stock of the apparent facts and take a harsh stand if need be,” Roshan tweeted.