UK-based BBC journalist Haroon Shahid has shamed Bollywood actors for brazen silence on the devastating floods in Pakistan. Shahid said that he has not seen any Bollywood actor talking about or expressing sympathy over the floods in Pakistan.
He called out the Bollywood stars in his tweet on Thursday. Shahid added that while the world is talking about it, none of the Bollywood celebrities have spoken about it, shared links for donations, or raised awareness about it on their social media platforms.
“I genuinely thought humanity knows no borders; it is telling that hardly any Bollywood stars have posted about the devastating floods in Pakistan – raise awareness, share links, just show sympathy. They know how popular they are and how much that acknowledgment would mean,” said Haroon Shahid in his tweet.
The tweet triggered debate among people on Twitter. Several netizens said that perhaps Bollywood actors are afraid of backlash from the public owing to the rising Hindu nationalism in the country. Bollywood actors are being canceled, and their movies are boycotted for bizarre reasons by pressure groups in India. The latest example is Aamir Khan, who has been hit by a smear campaign and relentless calls for a boycott of his movie Laal Singh Chhadha.
I'd say its more a sad reflection of a large segment of society they are operating in than their own sentiments. Muslim Bollywood actors are already facing attacks of not being loyal enough & being told to go to Pakistan. Others will be tarred as sympathisers or also unpatriotic. https://t.co/KbgRT4bgI4
— Mohammad Zaheer (@mzaheer88) September 2, 2022
I genuinely thought humanity knows no borders but it's telling that hardly any Bollywood stars have posted about the devastating floods in Pakistan – raise awareness, share links, just show sympathy. They know how popular they are and how much that acknowledgement would mean.💔
— Haroon Rashid (@iHaroonRashid) September 1, 2022
Good point, but the current Bollywood troop couldn’t even manage to vocalise their support for the farmers in their own country.#indianfarmersprotest #bollywood https://t.co/2mfBGoYAx8
— Farzana Chaudry (@farzana_chaudry) September 2, 2022
Ronaldo, Chris Hemsworth, brad pit and many more international celebrity are popular in Pakistan do they tweeted about flood..!
More than passing a baseless judgement better you should try to avoid your so called "humanity" everywhere. https://t.co/gRlYyZdzVl— Akash Mishra (@AkashMishra7459) September 2, 2022
Read more: Why Indian netizens are calling to boycott Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha
Pakistani netizens commented that Pakistani celebrities have always been vocal about problems in India. One Pakistani Twitter user reminded an Indian Twitter user that Pakistani celebrities had expressed solidarity with the people of India when the catastrophic wave of COVID-19 hit India. The comment came in response to the criticism of Pakistan celebrities by an Indian Twitter user. He accused them of not raising awareness of problems in India.
Other netizens expressed disappointment over Bollywood celebrities not talking about floods in Pakistan, although they are equally loved and followed here.