Will Deepika’s support to protesting JNU students affect Chappaak’s fortunes at the box office?

Actress Deepika Padukone’s decision to express solidarity with the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University who were attacked by an armed gang of goons on Sunday has stirred a hornet’s nest.

While one segment supporting the ABVP has announced that it will now boycott her upcoming film Chhapaak, another segment supporting the JNUSU has announced that they will now go watch her film, even if they originally had no intentions of doing so. Not just that, some of those backing the JNUSU have also announced that they will sponsor tickets for NGOs to go watch Deepika’s film.

In fact, there is a big war of words going on between both sections on social media.

It all started with Deepika’s decision to attend a public meeting, called by the JNU Teacher’s Association and JNUSU in response to Sunday’s attack on students and teachers by a masked mob armed with sticks and rods.

Deepika stood next to JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, who sustained a serious injury on her head after being attacked viciously on Sunday night during the violence on campus. She did not speak but expressed her solidarity with the students by standing next to them. She did not stay for long and left after a while.

However, her action seems to have triggered a series of reactions that might not only affect the fortunes of her film but also affect the fortunes of several other films as well, including Darbar.

Just as those backing the government’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) gave a call to boycott Deepika’s upcoming film, those opposing the act gave a call to boycott the films of other stars who were conspicously silent on the issue of CAA.

One person said on Facebook that he had bought 4 tickets for Chhapaak and that he had originally not intended to watch the movie but that he had changed his mind as he felt that those taking a stand against the violence at JNU must be supported.

He however said he would not be watching Rajinikanth’s Darbar in a theatre. He gave a call urging people to boycott Darbar if they were anti-CAA.