Deepika Padukone’s recent visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University has drawn criticism from BJP leaders, despite Union minister Prakash Javadekar saying that “anyone can go anywhere to express their opinion, there cannot be any objection”. Maharashtra BJP leader Ashish Shelar took a dig at the actor by drawing a reference from her film Bajirao Mastani. He said that Deepika should not “try to act like warrior Mastani as she does not have a real-life director behind her”.
Deepika Padukone, on Monday in Delhi for the promotions of her film Chhapaak, visited JNU to express solidarity with students recently attacked by a masked mob.
Calling the gesture “insensitive and inappropriate”, Shelar, a former state minister, said that it is ‘easy’ for Deepika to play a warrior like Mastani when there is a director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali behind her.
“In real life, when Deepika does not have a director behind her, she should not try and portray herself as a warrior like Mastani because she cannot lead that life in reality,” Ashish Shelar said, adding that since the police are probing the incident meeting just one side of the people is inappropriate. “We find her act insensitive,” the BJP leader said.
Deepika’s stance received a lot of praise from Bollywood. Celebrities including Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Anurag Kashyap and Deepika’s Chhapaak co-star Vikrant Massey lauded her on Twitter.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also praised Deepika for taking this stand days before the release of her film, by saying that she’s also the co-producer of the film and that her stakes are even higher.
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