Among the many Bollywood celebrities who’ve voiced help for Palestinians have been Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Varun Dhawan, Dia Mirza and Sonakshi Sinha.
![Alia Bhatt attends this year’s Met Gala in New York City. Bhatt is among the Bollywood celebrities who have voiced support for Palestinians. Photo: AFP](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/07/96045803-8f30-4679-86c1-84ba35671d55_77824e09.jpg?ssl=1)
Nevertheless, within the face of heavy trolling with some customers referring to oppressed Hindus in South Asia, a number of Bollywood stars similar to Madhuri Dixit who posted throughout the “Eyes on Rafah” marketing campaign deleted their social media accounts.
Bollywood actor Zeeshan Ayyub has criticised the celebrities who’ve highlighted the tragedy in Rafah but stayed silent on home points that warrant consideration.
“I name these celebrities spineless. They may solely converse on points … when it fits them, after they know it’s not going to come back again to them,” Ayyub, who has appeared in additional than 25 movies, advised This Week in Asia.
Ayyub, who can also be an activist, has dismissed the celebrities’ Rafah postings as a publicity stunt. He stated: “They need to be remembered for taking a stand on a problem condemned by all main international locations. I wager most of those celebrities don’t know wherein a part of Palestine Rafah is situated.”
Following the current election, Ayyub stated some celebrities is perhaps emboldened to query the Indian authorities. “Now as we’ve got a weaker authorities on the centre, you would possibly see a few of these celebrities sharing a meme or a publish vital of the federal government.”
Indian filmmaker and producer Onir, who prefers to be identified by his first title solely, stated it was unfair to select on Bollywood celebrities for talking out on particular points.
“Folks at all times carry on mentioning Bollywood being selective in elevating their voice, however that’s one thing everyone does, from journalists to activists individuals solely converse on points they’re snug with,” Onir stated.
Onir, who has directed greater than 10 Bollywood movies, stated trade contributors have been usually cautious of talking on points which may anger the federal government or its help base.
“For some, there’s a concern of the state, some don’t need to jeopardise their careers, others are conscious of receiving backlash from non secular quarters, so everyone has their causes to talk selectively,” Onir stated.
“We’ve got particular person influencers in Bollywood whom society appears to be like as much as for varied causes and they need to comprehend that their voice issues to their followers.”
The most important consideration for outspoken celebrities is the potential monetary affect in the event that they have been to handle controversial points in India provided that they work in an trade valued at 197 billion Indian rupees (US$2.4 billion) final yr.
Filmmaker and scholar Yousuf Saeed advised This Week in Asia that whereas many Bollywood celebrities have a stance on varied political points, they have been cautious of talking out in opposition to the federal government as this might have an effect on the certification of their movies and consequently result in monetary losses.
“Many producers even instruct actors and actresses to keep away from any controversy given their tens of millions of rupees invested within the movies. There are various Bollywood actors and actresses who’ve misplaced good movie alternatives due to their political stance on points.”