On a cold January night in 2020, Indian superstar Deepika Padukone probably took the stand of a lifetime. The Pathaan star stood at the sidelines with the protestors at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where students were attacked. The star, who was in the Indian capital for promotions of her then-upcoming film, attended the meeting and stood as former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar gave a speech. Dressed simply in black with her hair swept back into a bun, Padukone was flanked by her publicist and her manager. She left 15 minutes later without saying a word, leaving the rest of the world to interpret her actions. Her stance of solidarity with the oppressed students was of ample significance since she had a film, Chhapaak coming out in a matter of days. Many right-wingers called for a boycott of Meghna Gulzar's offering, while others were in awe of Padukone using her influence and being on the 'right side of history'. Much was spoken about the renowned star's take on the matter. Days went by and Padukone's Chhapaak introduced the actor to newfound fame. Now, almost four years later, the director of the film is speaking out on the matter. Talking about Padukone's stance in 2020, Gulzar shared at the Indian Express Adda event, "I am sure that the answer is pretty obvious. Yes, of course, it made a dent in the film." She added, "Because the conversation went from acid violence, which I intended the film to amplify, to somewhere else. So, of course, it impacted the film. There is no denying that.” Before heading to the protest, Padukone had spoken about the violence against students at the JNU campus in a 2019 interview with NDTV. “I feel proud to see that we aren’t scared to express ourselves. I think the fact that we are thinking about the country and its future. Whatever may be our point of view, it’s nice to see,” she had said. The star's presence on the university campus led to trolls slamming her and calling it a promotional, PR stunt for her film. However, there are many others on the social networking site lauding her for showing solidarity with the students. Several hashtags, both positive and negative, like #DeepikaPadukone, #IStandWithDeepika, #BoycottDeepikaPadukone and #BoycottChhapaak had been top trending on Indian Twitter. Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.
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