Here’s What Meghna Gulzar Has to Say About Deepika’s Visit to JNU

The actor’s visit to JNU to express solidarity with students who were attacked created a huge stir on social media.

Meghna Gulzar has spoken out about Deepika Padukone’s visit to JNU. 

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Chhapaak director Meghna Gulzar has finally spoken out about Deepika Padukone’s recent visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University, which had created quite a stir on social media. Speaking to PTI Meghna said that the decision to visit JNU to express solidarity with students who had been attacked was a personal one.

“We have to be able to separate between the personal and professional. What somebody does in their personal life and what they have done as a professional in a film needs to be looked at separately,” Meghna said.

The filmmaker also requested the audience to “divert the lens” and look at the reason behind the making of Chhapaak. The film is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, and Deepika essays the titular role.

On 7 January Deepika joined a protest rally against the attack on students and teachers of JNU by masked miscreants, alleged to be members of the BJP-affiliated students organisation ABVP. Visuals from the protest show Deepika standing at the gathering, near the podium, from where Kanhaiya Kumar along with current JNUSU leader Aishe Ghosh were chanting slogans. Later, she also met with Ghosh. Kanhaiya even tweeted in support of the actor, saying that history will remember her for her courage.

While many lauded Deepika for her show of solidarity, several deemed it a publicity stunt for her film Chhapaak. She was targeted by several right wing supporters, including BJP leader Tajindar Bagga, for siding with the ‘tukde tukde’ gang, a derogratory phrase coined by BJP sympathiser for people of the left. They also called for a boycott of Chhapaak. #BoycottChapak was one of the top trends on Twitter in India, with close to 220,000 tweets by the hashtag.

(Inputs: PTI)