NEW DEHLI – Fearing a backlash from fans, politicians and religiouszealots, Bollywood stars have in the past usually steered clear of India´sfiery politics. But the country´s top actress may have changed that.
Signalling a possible generational shift, Deepika Padukone waded into a seaof student protesters in Delhi on Tuesday night, evoking loud cheers fromthe surprised crowd.
Few had any inkling that Padukone would attend the demonstration at aprestigious university where the left-leaning student body has long been inthe crosshairs of India´s ruling party.
Her appearance sparked a social media war between those wanting her newfilm boycotted — suggesting her only motive was publicity for the moviewhich released Friday — and others applauding her courage.
Either way, many said the moment marked a watershed in India´smulti-billion-dollar Hindi movie industry.
“It was a gutsy move,” said Mumbai-based novelist and commentator ShobhaaDe, and reflected a “big shift” for Bollywood.
“Stars today understand that their constituency is young India, and youngIndia respects people who speak up,” De told AFP.
In a country where obedience to elders is all but enshrined in law, youngIndians are demanding the right to be heard, protesting against everythingfrom university fee hikes to most recently a new citizenship law criticisedas anti-Muslim.
And in an age ruled by social media, even movie stars are not insulatedfrom the issues that matter to their fans.
“None of this would be happening without social media,” said actress SwaraBhasker, one of the few stars who have consistently spoken out against thegovernment.
“Bollywood has faced so much criticism on Twitter for not being politicallyengaged, and much of it from young people who are your target audience,”she told AFP.
“Why would you want to alienate them?”
Cannot stay neutral
Another factor is events on the ground since Prime Minister Narendra Modi´sgovernment passed the citizenship law last month.
Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in demonstrationsnationwide, and at least 25 have been killed in clashes with police.
Last Sunday, masked attackers went on the rampage at Delhi´s JawaharlalNehru University, injuring 34 people and sparking yet more protests.
“Ultimately the film industry is a microcosm of society, and I don´t thinkimages of bloodied students go down well with middle-class Indians,” RichaChadha, another actress, told AFP.
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“Actors are not elected officials but they can sense the mood of thenation,” she added.
A year ago Modi posed for a now-famous selfie with the who´s-who ofBollywood, including Padukone´s husband Ranveer Singh.
Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan, two of the stars who appeared in thatselfie last January, have now both spoken out against the violence.
“My heart goes out to all the students back home in Delhi,” Malhotratweeted last month, calling it “sad to see violence against citizens forvoicing their opinion through peaceful protests”.
“I think we cannot stay neutral in such issues,” said Dhawan.
Awakened conscience
In contrast to Bollywood´s younger generation, the old guard includingsuperstars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have notcommented on the protests.
They perhaps have learned the hard lesson that sticking your neck out is adangerous business, risking film boycotts, the loss of lucrativesponsorship deals, or worse.
Padukone´s last release “Padmaavat” came under fire from religious radicalslinked to Modi´s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who objected to her portrayalof the legendary Hindu queen in the epic.
Mobs attacked the director and vandalised the set. One BJP politician evenoffered a bounty for the actress to be beheaded, and a Molotov cocktail waslobbed at a cinema.
On Friday, cabinet minister Smriti Irani accused Padukone of beingunpatriotic and standing “with people who wanted the destruction of India”.
“You are damned if you speak up and damned if you don´t,” said Chadha.
Bhasker, who has been the target of vicious online bullying over her views,praised Padukone.
“For years it´s been easy to malign those of us who spoke up and write itoff as a publicity stunt, so to have the biggest female star in the countrydo it is a huge win in the perception battle,” she said.
“Ultimately though, this moment belongs to the protesters and the studentswho have awakened this country´s conscience.” -APP/AFP
