Bollywood celebrities who voiced support for the Palestinians included Madhuri Dixit, Aalia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Varun Dhawan, Dia Mirza and Sonakshi Sinha.
However, facing intense trolling by some users who made references to oppressed Hindus in South Asia, several Bollywood stars, including Madhuri Dixit, who posted during the “Eyes on Rafa” campaign, have deleted their social media accounts.
Bollywood actor Zeeshan Ayub has criticised celebrities for maintaining silence on noteworthy national issues while highlighting the Rafah tragedy.
“I call these celebrities wimps. They only speak about issues when it suits them and when they know it won’t come back to them,” Ayyub, who has appeared in more than 25 films, told This Week in Asia.
Ayyub, who is also an activist, dismissed the celebrities’ posts about Rafah as propaganda stunts: “They want to be remembered for taking a stand on an issue that all major countries condemn. Most of these celebrities probably don’t know where in Palestine Rafah is located.”
Ayyub said the recent elections may encourage some celebrities to question the Indian government. “With the central government now weak, some celebrities may share memes and posts criticising the government.”
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Modi’s BJP claims ‘historic’ victory in Indian elections despite smaller majority
Modi’s BJP claims ‘historic’ victory in Indian elections despite smaller majority
O’Neill, an Indian film director and producer who prefers to be known only by his first name, said it was unfair to attack Bollywood celebrities for speaking out on certain issues.
“People always point out that Bollywood is selective in speaking out, but that’s what everyone does, from journalists to activists, and people only speak out on issues they are comfortable talking about,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill, who has directed more than 10 Bollywood films, said industry players are generally wary of speaking out on issues that could anger the government or its support base.
“Some people fear the state, some don’t want to risk their careers, some are worried about backlash from religious communities, so everyone has reasons to be careful about what they say,” O’Neill said.
“Bollywood has individual influencers who are respected by society for various reasons. They should understand that their voice matters to their followers.”
The biggest concern for the outspoken celebrities is the potential financial repercussions of taking on controversial issues in India, given that they work in an industry worth 197 billion Indian rupees ($2.4 billion) last year.
Film director and academic Yusuf Saeed told This Week in Asia that while many Bollywood celebrities have taken a stand on various political issues, they are cautious about speaking out against the government as it could affect the certification of their films, which could ultimately lead to financial losses.
“Many producers instruct their actors and actresses to stay away from any controversy as they have invested millions of rupees in a film. There are many Bollywood actors and actresses who have lost opportunities to do good films because of their political stance on issues.”
