Deepika Padukone is in the news not only for her upcoming film Chhapaak, but also for making a trip to the now-infamous Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She did this to express her support for students and was seen to be taking a political stand. In the event, there was #Respect for her on the one hand and calls for #Boycott of her film on the other. #IsupportDeepika and #BoycottChhapak were both trending. Here’s why
She was seen standing with the students of JNU, particularly those who were injured in an incident where masked intruders entered the university; vandalising property and beating up students.
Many of the tweeple, particularly those on a particular side of the political spectrum who see JNU students as ‘leftists’ and ‘anti-nationals’, were very angry with her. They tweeted with #boycottchhapaak and some also blocked/ unfollowed her.
Many commentators expressed the view that Padukone's actions are nothing but a publicity stunt meant to get into the headlines before a big movie release.
A number of tweets included the term ‘tukde tukde gang’ (often used by Twitter’s troll army as well as some of the highest government functionaries to describe ideologies that don’t agree with their world view).
Some cancelled show tickets
Some tweets appeared to be coming from different accounts but were sharing screenshots of the same cancelled ticket. This seems to point to an organised attempt to promote a particular narrative and trend a particular hashtag.
While the picture featuring Akshay Kumar is not a recent one, it did not go unnoticed that Kumar had previously liked a tweet cheering police brutality (which he claimed to have done by mistake.)
Fans of Padukone as well as those who support the stand she has taken also trended the hashtag #IStandWithDeepika.
Many of the tweeple saw her action as taking a stand against fascism; against authorities targeting and/or failing to protect students.
There had been a huge controversy around a previous film; namely Padmaavat. At the time people were asking for a ban of the film, asking for Padukone’s nose to be cut off and even placing a bounty on her head.
Others asked for more people to go watch the movie to support Paduoke and the courageous stand she took.
People have called out to other Bollywood stars and sportspersons to ‘grow a spine’ and take a stand against injustice and oppression.
There seems to be evidence to support the charge that some were the aggressors and others were their targets and that Padukone’s stance would inevitably attract a strong backlash.
There are many who feel that Padukone’s stance is an act of conscience; not a publicity stunt. It was also pointed out that her visit was unscheduled.
Some think she stood with the anti-nationals. Some feel she stood up for students and against fascism.
In showbiz, all publicity is said to be good publicity. Perhaps those who were trending anti-Padukone hashtags did not realise this. We will see whether or not this is true when Chhapaak releases this weekend.
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