Deepika Padukone's JNU visit leaves Twitter divided

BJP called for a boycott of the Bollywood stars next film, accusing her of supporting the "anti-national" students

KARACHI: Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is leaving Twitter divided after visiting India's New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where students were attacked.

On Sunday, the protesters faced a brutal assault by masked suspects with alleged links to a student group backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reported Al Jazeera.

Padukone is now the biggest star of the country so far to back the protesting students, however, there are mixed reactions to her appearance circulating on Twitter.

If this is how someone promotes films, for the first time, I may actually be influenced. #Deepika #JNUattack #DeepikaPadukone

— Sudhir Srinivasan (@sudhirsrinivasn) January 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/iamtnvr_/status/1214584847269650432

I love how @republic does an entire news bulletin about Deepika Padukone and then accuses her of promotions 🙂

It's your camera dum dum. Just point it somewhere else....like an eye level shot of our politicians.

Or in your case...a low angle shot...looking up.

— Vir Das (@thevirdas) January 8, 2020

The 34-year-old star, who was in New Delhi for promotions of her upcoming film Chhapaak, attended the meeting and stood as former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar gave a speech.

Dressed simply in black with her hair swept back into a bun, Padukone was flanked by her publicist and her manager. She left without saying a word after around 15 minutes, leaving the rest of the world to interpret her actions.

The star's presence on the university campus led to trolls slamming her and calling it a promotional, PR stunt for her film. However, there are many others on the social networking site lauding her for showing solidarity with the students.

Several hashtags, both positive and negative, like #DeepikaPadukone, #IStandWithDeepika, #BoycottDeepikaPadukone and #BoycottChhapaak have been top trending on Indian Twitter since Tuesday evening.

In another time, I'd also have called it a publicity stunt. But the climate of fear that we are in currently when no one is speaking out, #Deepika's presence at #JNU stripped me off my cynicism. It's a clear sign of moral courage.

— Lord Meow (@RanjibMazumder) January 7, 2020

?

Bollywood celebrities such as Anurag Kashyap and Konkona Sen were among those who tweeted in support of the actor. "Mad respect for her," Kashyap tweeted, pointing out that Padukone is also a producer on her upcoming film, which could lead to boycotting.

Let’s not forget she is also the producer of the films .. stakes are even higher . Mad respect for @deepikapadukone https://t.co/y5CPzSEedU

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 7, 2020

Meanwhile, A Death in the Gunj maker Konkana Sen Sharma tweeted "respect" for the actor.

https://twitter.com/konkonas/status/1214623299168137216

Controversial Indian journalist Arnab Goswami also made a viral segment about Padukone's presence at JNU, saying, "Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone don't know anything about the issue, they may know the abbreviations, but beyond that in detail they actually know nothing."

Deepika Padukone silences reports of using Ranveer Singh's money for 'Chhapaak'

He continued, "For them there is no difference between making a two minute appearance at a shoe shop and commercialising the JNU conflict."

As always, Arnab says it better than anyone else :) pic.twitter.com/Ivv9ktgw7q

— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) January 8, 2020

Screenwriter Aniruddha Guha pointed out that Padukone has faced the wrath of trolls before, referring to her film Padmaavat that led to the actor receiving threats.

"Cynics who think Deepika Padukone's appearance at #JNU is a publicity stunt, remember this: The right wing publicly threatened to chop her nose off, and delayed her film’s release, only 2 years ago. Don’t pretend like she isn’t aware of the stakes," he tweeted.

Cynics who think @deepikapadukone’s appearance at #JNU is a publicity stunt, remember this: The right wing publicly threatened to chop her nose off, *and* delayed her film’s release, only 2 years ago. Don’t pretend like she isn’t aware of the stakes.

— Aniruddha Guha (@AniGuha) January 7, 2020

Actor-filmmaker Prakash Raj tweeted an illustration that showed Padukone in many of her bold on-screen roles, as well as being bold in real-life, and thanked her for "being a true Indian."

Thank you @deepikapadukone ... thank you for being a true INDIAN .. pic.twitter.com/eHiYNCXA1R

— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 7, 2020

Bollywood's top Muslim stars - Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan - have been questioned for their silence on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act passed by India's parliament last month.

Critics say the law violates India's secular constitution and is anti-Muslim. At least 27 people have been killed in nationwide protests against the law.

Supporters of the BJP have called for a boycott of Padukone's next film, accusing her of supporting the "anti-national" students of JNU.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.