Several users took to Twitter and slammed the way the protests were carried out. But the Hindi film industry was conspicuous by its absence.
Bollywood has often been called out for not speaking up and about when it really matters. The latest example is that of the countrywide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA). During the protests in New Delhi, primarily in- and out-side the premise of the Jamia Millia Islamia University, where there was crackdown on students by Delhi Police.
Several users took to Twitter and slammed the way the protests were carried out. But the Hindi film industry was conspicuous by its absence initially.
A few filmstars later took to the micro-blogging site to condemn the proceedings. While many outrightly supported the students, several others said violence was not the way to achieve means in a country that has long been a follower of Ahimsa.
"I studied at Jamia. It is where I trained to be a filmmaker, where I met my best friends for life. It is the place that gave me hope and encouragement when I was a confused young girl trying to navigate my way through life. I have such fond memories. Today my heart is bleeding for the students of Jamia who have been mercilessly attacked on campus. This is wrong and cruel at every level. I stand in solidarity with the bravehearts of Jamia. I am praying for the students who are injured and fighting for their lives," tweeted Alankrita Shrivastava, known for directing path-breaking web series 'Made in Heaven'. She is an alumnus of Jamia.
South superstar Siddharth, who has always spoken up on such matters, was among the first ones to tweet support.
Sayani Gupta, known for her stellar acting, goaded other actors to tweet in support of the students and democracy.
"On behalf of the students of Jamia & AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) request at least one of you to tweet or message Mr.Modi condemning this act of police brutality and violence against students. The time has come to speak up guys. Yes? No? May be?" she posted, tagging Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Vicky Kaushal and Karan Johar.
Taapsee Pannu showed the same courage her characters have shown in her movies.
"Wonder if this is a start or the end. Whatever it is, this is surely writing new rules of the land and those who don’t fit in can very well see the consequences. This video breaks heart n hopes all together. Irreversible damage, and I’m not talking about just the life n property," she tweeted.
Firebrand filmmaker Anurag Kashyap tweeted, "This has gone too far.. can’t stay silent any longer," adding, "it makes me angry to see voices that can actually make a difference stay quiet."
Vikrant Massey tweeted: "This is a picture of students from #JamiaMilia holding photos of #Ambedkar & #Gandhi opposing the #CAA2019.. We haven’t forgotten our roots. And we will fight to regain the lost sanity of this proud country. #StandWithJamia #Delhiviolence."
Rituparna Chatterjee had a valid question to ask. "Does anyone other than @anubhavsinha @IamOnir @ReallySwara @RichaChadha & a handful of others have a spine in Bollywood? Silent on every issue of crushing importance. More disappointing when you see Hollywood biggies leading march on sexual violence, climate change, immigration," she said.
Rajkummar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Riteish Deshmukh also pitched in.
Anubhav Sinha was rather angry.
There was some controversy when Akshay Kumar said he had accidentally "liked" a tweet on the violence on campus.
There have been protests over the past few days in several parts of the country over the CAA.
