Deepika Padukone made a brief appearance at the JNU on Tuesday
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone on Tuesday made a brief appearance at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, joining students and faculty members protesting violence by members of the Hindu Rashtra Dal (HRD) on the evening January 5. Padukone’s presence at JNU is perhaps the first time a Bollywood A-lister has expressed their solidarity with the university students. True that other Bollywood celebrities, including the likes of Swara Bhaskar, Anurag Kashyap have from time-to-time raised their voices in support of students and against the government’s attitude towards them, but the fact remains that Deepika is in the movie industry's top league.
So far, none from Bollywood A-listers, including the Khans or any top-rated actresses, has exhibited any form of support for, first the Citizenship Amendment Act protestors, students from the JNU. They remained silent, amid continued criticism of not speaking out for the protestors and students.
Is Deepika’s presence a sign of support?
Before reaching the conclusion that Deepika has thrown her weight behind the students of JNU, one has to keep in mind that the star actress was on campus for a mere ten minutes.
It must also be noted that she was already in town to promote her upcoming project Chapaak, set to hit the theatres this Friday.
Last month, movie analysts noted the lacklustre theatre opening of Dabangg 3 owing to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
So, the big question remains whether Deepika was present at the campus to promote her movie, or was it just a promotional stunt. The jury is yet to be out.
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