Bollywood’s deafening silence on protests in India

The biggest of Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are eerily silent on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill and the violent student clashes that erupted in New Delhi on December 15 involving Jamia Millia University students as they protested against the bill. But other significant stars have collectively condemned the violence. Shah Rukh Khan’s (an alumnus of Jamia Milia Islamia University) studious silence has been noted and there are calls by his admirers to condemn the attack and speak up.

But another celebrity alumnus from Jamia Millia didn’t have any reservations about condemning the attack. “I studied at Jamia. It is where I trained to be a filmmaker, where I met my best friends for life. It is the place that gave me hope and encouragement when I was a confused young girl trying to navigate my way through life. I have such fond memories. Today my heart is bleeding for the students of Jamia who have been mercilessly attacked on campus. This is wrong and cruel at every level. I stand in solidarity with the bravehearts of Jamia. I am praying for the students who are injured and fighting for their lives,” tweeted ‘Made in Heaven’ director Alankrita Shrivasta.

Actress Sayani Gupta, who was last seen in ‘Article 15’, implored actors to voice their opinions. “On behalf of the students of Jamia & AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) request at least one of you to tweet or message Mr.Modi condemning this act of police brutality and violence against students. The time has come to speak up guys. Yes? No? May be?,” tweeted Gupta, directly tagging actors and producers like Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and producer-director Karan Johar.

But not all talents needed prompting to express their anguish. Actors including Konkona Sen Sharma, Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Vikrant Massey and Soni Razdan took to their social media accounts and have voiced their concern after several students were injured in a police encounter. Here’s how they responded: Swara Bhasker: “Shocking messages of violence, tear gassing from #Jamia in #Delhi ! Why are students being treated like criminals? Why are hostels being tear gassed.. ???"

Actress Taapsee Pannu said: “Wonder if this is a start or the end. Whatever it is, this is surely writing new rules of the land and those who don’t fit in can very well see the consequences. This video breaks heart n hopes all together. Irreversible damage, and I’m not talking about just the life n property.”

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap returned to Twitter after a brief hiatus to tweet: “This has gone too far.. can’t stay silent any longer." He added: "... it makes me angry to see voices that can actually make a difference stay quiet ..”

Actress Richa Chadha tweeted: “JNU, FTII, AMU, Nalanda, BHU, Cotton University, Jamia Milia ... scared of students much? This is not a coincidence … Kerala, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jadavpur Kolkata, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Aligarh, Delhi, Mumbai. Kashmiris are not allowed to protest... People, students all over are protesting against the #CAA2019. Don’t be in denial.”

'Chhapaak' actor Vikrant Massey posted a picture, tweeting: “This is a picture of students from #JamiaMilia holding photos of #Ambedkar & #Gandhi opposing the #CAA2019.. We haven’t forgotten our roots. And we will fight to regain the lost sanity of this proud country. #StandWithJamia #Delhiviolence.”

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt wrote: “We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. At Ambedkar’s abode. After reading the Preamble of our Constitution.”