Deepika
Padukone's
visit
to
the
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University
on
January
7
divided
the
internet.
While
many
hailed
her
as
a
'hero'
for
standing
in
solidarity
with
the
students
who
were
attacked
by
masked
assailants,
others
trolled
her
for
doing
so,
and
started
an
internet
boycott
on
her
to-be-released
film
Chhapaak.
The
trolls
also
campaigned
to
block
Deepika
on
Twitter.
However,
Deepika's
Twitter
following
has
had
a
massive
jump
post
her
JNU
visit.
According
to
Pinkvilla,
Deepika's
Twitter
following
shot
up
by
around
40,000.
Her
Twitter
following
now
stands
at
26.8
million.
Deepika
was
praised
for
taking
a
quiet
but
strong
stance
on
the
JNU
violence.
Deepika
visited
the
campus
and
stood
in
solidarity
with
students
for
around
fifteen
minutes
on
Tuesday
evening.
She
refused
to
speak,
but
her
being
there
spoke
more
than
words.
Many
celebrities
supported
Deepika
while
trollers
slammed
her
for
standing
with
the
students.
They
promised
to
book
numerous
tickets
for
Chhapaak,
while
Boycott
Chhapaak
trended
on
the
internet.
Her
show
of
support
even
moved
stars
like
Sonakshi
Sinha
and
Kartik
Aaryan
to
break
their
silence
on
the
issue,
and
condemn
the
attacks.
Chhapaak,
which
releases
tomorrow,
on
January
10,
has
been
hailed
as
a
brilliant
film
according
to
early
reviews.
Chhapaak
is
based
on
the
story
of
acid
attack
survivor
Laxmi
Agarwal,
and
is
directed
by
Meghna
Gulzar.
Vikrant
Massey
stars
opposite
Deepika
in
this
story
of
triumph.