A delegation, including prominent personalities from Bollywood like Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar, Bhushan Kumar, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Prasoon Joshi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Tuesday. During the meeting, they pitched for lower and uniform rates of GST for the fraternity.

The delegation, which represented the entire film fraternity, drew a lot of flak on social media for being all-male.

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On 19 December, director Alankrita Shrivastava took to Twitter and wrote, “Would be great to have female representation in these delegations. It is 2018.”

Would be great to have female representation in these delegations. It is 2018. https://t.co/HoxGbptgwX

— Alankrita Shrivastava (@alankrita601) December 18, 2018

Speaking about the meeting, she pointed out the gender imbalance.

“I believe women are equal stakeholders in the film industry and overall in the Indian economy. Policies that concern the film industry should be discussed and shaped by collectives that have equal representation of women. We cannot just assume that only men somehow know everything and will decide everything,” she told IANS.

She said that this held true for all industries and all kinds of panels and delegations.

“It is 2018 and time is up on having all male groups leading the way. If we truly want a more equal world, we have to make proactive efforts towards creating it. And that will make us a genuinely progressive country,” she added.

Here are a few reactions of Twitter users:

Must be really hard finding a woman to be part of this. Who has ever heard of woman actor/director/filmmaker/scriptwriter etc. Its a sausage fest in entertainment industry.

— Priyanka (@autumnrainwish) December 19, 2018

A very sad moment for the women of India where the PM meets with a delegation of film industry where women are objectified but never a part of any delegation. Who curated the list of invitees? Shouldn’t the person be questioned?

— Shalini (@Shalshandle) December 19, 2018

Congrats! Just an observation (not a criticism) @akshaykumar – it would be even more exciting to see some ‘women’ representing the industry too. They are, I guess, equally important & prominent in film making

— Pooja Gianchandani (@theskillspundit) December 19, 2018

According to a PIB statement, the delegation gave Modi an overview of the vast growth potential of the media and entertainment industry in India and said that this sector is poised to contribute in a significant way towards the Prime Minister’s vision for making India a five trillion dollar economy in the near future.

The film fraternity members even pitched for lower and uniform rates of GST for the entertainment industry in India, apart from calling for the development of Mumbai as the global entertainment capital, through various initiatives and proactive approaches.

Modi said the Indian entertainment industry enjoys immense popularity across the world. It is one of the key elements of India’s rising soft power status, globally.

-With agency inputs