More Bollywood celebrities have joined in the protest against Citizen Amendment Bill and the brutal use of force by India’s law enforcement agencies to quell protests against CAB.
Contrary to the deafening silence by Bollywood’s three superstars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan on the issue, India’s notable actor and director Farhan Akhtar has not only condemned the bill but is even spearheading anti-CAB demonstrations.
https://twitter.com/FarOutAkhtar/status/1207143874138910720?s=20
As a parent and a citizen of india , I am deeply saddened by the unrest across various educational institutions of our country. I hope and pray for peace to return as soon as possible. Great teachers learn from their students. I salute the worlds youngest democracy.
— Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) December 18, 2019
Farhan’s mother, veteran actress Shabana Azmi, also joined the protest and released a short video on her Twitter account. She read out a few verses penned down by her husband, Javed Akhar and India’s prolific lyricist to expressed dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Bollywood actress, Parineeti Chopra condemned the use of brutal force by Delhi Police on the student protestors of the Jamia Milia University.
Read more: Pass a bill to rescind India’s democratic identity: Parineeti Chopra
After the abhorrent use of force to silence the protestors, a bill must be passed to strip off India’s identity of a democratic state, wrote sore Parineeti Chopra in her tweet. She called ‘barbaric’ to beat the innocent protestors and even slammed the discriminatory Citizen Amendment bill.
Parineeti Chopra is among the score of Bollywood celebrities who censured the assault on student protestors in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. But Bollywood actors including the A-lister Khans, who have remained silent in the face of brutalities on students came under fire on social media.
Salam Mumbai for the peaceful protest against CAA and thank you Mumbai Police🙏 pic.twitter.com/ZrvNIIv7mr
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) December 19, 2019
I LOVE YOU MUMBAI. 🥰🥰🥰 https://t.co/VIMoz6BkuH
— Sanjay Rajprakash Gupta (@_SanjayGupta) December 19, 2019
Jawab Do pic.twitter.com/bYiboSRVDn
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) December 19, 2019
Moreover, Swara Bhaskar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Hrithik Roshan, Siddharth Malhotra, Akshay Kumar have come forward to decry the use of force to quell the student protestors.
However, Bollywood’s top brass, the Kapoors, the Bachchans, the Khans, and Karan Johar have been tight-lipped about the issue.
Listening is the first act of love . Listen to your children – life is talking to you through them! pic.twitter.com/EihgWNWmIY
— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) December 20, 2019
The oasis of hope !!! https://t.co/cqQq0D1IHi
— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) December 19, 2019
My heart goes out to all the students back home in Delhi. In a democracy like ours, its sad to see violence against citizens for voicing their opinion through peaceful protests. There should be no place for violence of any form & intent in our country. I strongly condemn this act
— Sidharth Malhotra (@SidMalhotra) December 16, 2019
Khans’ silence irked Indians
Bollywood’s King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, was the most criticized actor on Indian Twitter. People questioned Khan’s silence on Delhi Police’s assault despite him being the Alma Mater of Jamia Milia University.
People equated his silence on the issue to his fear of being slandered by the extremist BJP and RSS as anti-national and Pakistan’s empathizer, if he vocally condemns the government.
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Indian Twitter users are thrusting Shah Rukh Khan to speak up on the issues since he is an influential voice in Bollywood. Khan seems to have resorted to silence to escape the expected wicked dissension from the advocates of government.
This!🙏🏻 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/X8qj9sCdEO
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) December 16, 2019
There has been a growing uneasiness regarding the brazenly spurious silence of the three superstars Khans of Bollywood against the segregationist CAB and National Register of Citizen that attempts to overrun the Muslim population in India.
What is happening is not okay. The way it’s happening is not okay. People have every right to peacefully voice their opinion. This violence and disruption is both saddening and concerning as a fellow citizen. In no circumstance, must our faith in democracy be shaken. 🇮🇳
— Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09) December 16, 2019
Columnist Sanjay Jha, spokesperson for National Congress Party, in his article explained that it is not easy to carry a Khan surname in India, where religion extremist is hounding the minorities and razing its secular setup.
He, however, asserts that the collective voice of three Khans of Bollywood will fall short to challenge the rising religious bigotry and divisional politics ruling India these days where India’s billionaire clubs have also become cheerleaders of the Modi’s disastrous policies.