Facing backlash
R Madhavan and Katrina Kaif continue to face criticism online over their silence. While students at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have called out Madhavan, president of FTII, a long-running Katrina Kaif fan page has shut down, saying it no longer wishes to support the actor over her silence on the protests.
United with students
Gurfateh Pirzada and Pratibha Ranta
Gurfateh Pirzada and Pratibha Ranta joined the student protest in Mumbai, held in solidarity with the demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. Gurfateh admitted he was nervous before attending, but had no regrets afterwards. Sharing pictures from the protest, he wrote, “First protest! Was I scared? 100%. People around me told me not to go [obviously they were concerned]. Some social media hate that followed and the 50 followers I lost, in spite of it all, I’m glad I went because anyone who thinks it’s smarter not to indulge is the foolish one here because that’s exactly the kind of mentality that got us here in the first place.”
Not there yet
Vivaan Shah and Naseeruddin Shah
Vivaan Shah has cleared the air over a viral video of his father, Naseeruddin Shah, that fuelled speculation about his presence at the CJP protest. Vivaan said the clip was old and explained that both of them wanted to attend the students’ protest but couldn’t because of prior commitments. “Our hearts are always with them, and we want to give them support, solidarity, strength, and love. However, that video created a misunderstanding that we were present there,” he said, promising to be there.
‘Yaad rakha jaayega’
Arijit Singh
Arijit Singh didn’t hold back while voicing his support for the protesting students. Taking to X, he wrote, “Yaar ab to students ko maar rahe hain yahaan aap log. Aren’t you ashamed?” He followed it up with another post, “Hello Neta/Mantri, kya chal raha hai bhai! Apne aapko bhagwan samajh liya hai kya? Har cheez yaad rakkha jayega! Har har Mahadev! Yaad rakhna: The only constant is change (sic).” Safe to say, the singer isn’t mincing his words.