What Does Deepika Padukone's Visit To JNU Mean? Was It For Chhapaak Promotions Or Not?
Deepika Padukone created quite a stir with her a visit the JNU campus yesterday. She wished to stand by the students and raised her voice against the violence.
After
wrapping
up
major
promotions
of
her
upcoming
release,
Chhapaak,
Bollywood
actress
Deepika
Padukone
visited
the
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University
(JNU)
in
Delhi
on
January
7
and
created
a
stir.
A
masked
mob
had
attacked
the
teachers
and
students
on
the
JNU
campus
on
January
5,
but
a
majority
of
Bollywood
celebrities
were
quiet
on
the
issue,
except
stars
like
Alia
Bhatt,
Sonam
Kapoor,
Taapsee
Pannu,
Swara
Bhasker,
Dia
Mirza,
Shabana
Azmi,
Zoya
Akhtar,
Richa
Chadha,
Anurag
Kashyap,
Vishal
Bhardwaj
and
some
more
who
voiced
their
opinion
and
took
part
in
protests
in
Mumbai.
At
such
a
time
when
very
few
of
Bollywood's
superstars
were
speaking
on
the
JNU
attack,
Deepika
Padukone's
visit
to
the
institution
in
solidarity
with
the
teachers
and
students
drew
a
lot
of
attention.
Although
she
got
good
media
coverage,
opinions
were
divided
on
Twitter
and
other
social
media.
While
some
were
supporting
and
lauding
Deepika
Padukone
for
showing
up
at
JNU,
others
were
trending
#BoycottDeepika
on
social
media,
demanding
a
ban
on
Chhapaak.
It
is
to
be
noted
that
Deepika
did
not
speak
about
the
event
on
social
media,
nor
did
she
speak
during
her
visit
at
the
university.
She
was
seen
standing
with
a
group
of
students
and
the
president
of
the
students'
union,
Aishe
Ghosh,
who
was
injured
in
the
attack.
Many
other
celebrities
came
forward
applauding
Deepika
for
visiting
the
JNU
campus.
On
Twitter,
however,
the
story
changed
face
overnight.
From
a
celebrity
visit
to
the
JNU
campus
to
express
solidarity,
it
turned
into
a
hashtag
#ISupportDeepikaPadukone.
Soon,
#BoycottDeepika
started
trending.
Twitter
is
a
social
networking
site
open
for
people
to
share
their
opinions,
and
hashtags
are
used
to
second
another
viewpoint.
In
doing
so,
Twitter
users
quickly
took
sides,
either
in
support
of
the
actress
or
opposed
her
visit.
The
divided
opinion
on
Twitter
has
taken
over
the
actual
protest
and
issue
at
hand.
So
the
@BJP4India
&
@ABVPVoice
have
claimed
that
they
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
violence
in
JNU.
If
@deepikapadukone
visits
the
campus
to
show
solidarity
why
have
they
launched
a
campaign
to
boycott
her
film?
U
may
have
made
new
fans
across
border
and
India
haters
here
but
u
lost
many
honest
fans.
Every
1
r
angry
for
u
standing
with
leftists
in
JNU
who
actually
started
the
violence.
pic.twitter.com/UBLE19w5np
The
question
remains
whether
celebrities
should
share
their
opinion
on
national
and
political
matters.
Can
it
be
called
their
personal
opinion,
effort
in
public
interest
or
using
their
influence?
The
line
that
separates
the
three
is
blurred
and
so
is
the
commercial
aspect
of
the
events.
Many
Twitter
users
have
also
claimed
Deepika's
visit
was
used
as
a
promotional
tactic
for
her
upcoming
film
Chhapaak,
while
others
claimed
the
film
is
based
on
an
acid
attack
survivor
and
should
not
be
lumped
in
with
the
protest.
It
is
simplistic
to
dismiss
Deepika
Padukone’s
support
at
JNU
as
‘movie
promotion.’
She’s
a
mega
star
&
knows
the
risks
of
boycotts/demonisation.
Which
is
what
the
mighty
Khans
faced
&
retreated.
Or
why
the
great
AB
won’t
speak.
The
fact
is
that
Deepika
simply
has
more
courage
Simple
arithmetic
of
Deepika
Padukone’s
JNU
visit.
A
vast
majority
of
people
support
her.
The
easy
way
to
neutralize
the
few
who
plan
to
boycott
her
film
is
for
others
to
see
it
twice.
It’s
easy
to
see
that,
by
this
logic,
if
10%
boycott
her
film
the
viewership
will
go
up
by
80%.
One
Twitter
user
has
also
shared
an
old
footage
of
the
actress
to
justify
the
current
events.
But
Deepika
Padukone
is
mum
on
social
media
and
thinks
she
has
already
said
what
she
wanted
to
two
years
ago,
when
she
was
being
threatened
for
her
film
Padmaavat.
In
an
interview
on
television,
Deepika
had
said,
"I
am
afraid
this
will
be
our
normal." It
is
almost
as
if
she
predicted
the
current
situation.
No
wonder
Deepika
Padukone
was
seen
showing
solidarity
with
JNU
students
who
were
seen
doing
seen
doing
violence
recently,
she
is
a
Rahul
Gandhi
fan
afterall
✌️
pic.twitter.com/HMiBYKCyfn
Deepika
@deepikapadukone
on
JNU
attack,
"This
wasn’t
the
foundation
our
country
was
built
on.
I
feel
angry
that
this
is
happening.
But
the
fact
that
action
is
not
being
taken,
is
what
we
must
think
about."
Strong
Words,
must
listen.
#ISupportDeepika
pic.twitter.com/ydJQpSpAgZ
While
the
hate
and
support
for
Deepika
Padukone
lingers
on
social
networks,
it
has
also
set
off
the
same
wave
among
media
and
news
outlets.
A
majority
of
the
coverage
is
about
her
visit
and
not
about
JNU
protests,
even
if
it
may
have
been
the
initial
intention.
So,
should
the
influential
celebrities
take
a
back
seat
when
table-turning
events
take
place?
We
have
seen
many
stand
in
support
of
acid
attack
victims
and
rape
victims,
but
does
it
lead
to
action
against
the
perpetrators?
With
the
Internet,
it
is
not
hard
for
everyone
to
see
what
is
happening
at
the
other
end
of
the
world.
If
people
are
to
stand
in
support
or
oppose
any
event,
do
we
need
a
celebrity
to
come
forward
and
shed
light
on
the
issue?
If
Bollywood
wants
to
stand
in
support,
can
there
be
a
better
way?
Disclaimer:
The
views
expressed
in
this
article
are
that
of
the
writer.