Deepika becomes focus of national attention with JNU visit, bouquets and calls for boycott too

Leapfrogging from the entertainment section to the front pages of newspapers for showing up at JNU, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone was on Wednesday the cynosure of national attention, earning bouquets but also brickbats as various people, including politicians, faced off against each other.

While BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri and others asked people to boycott her upcoming movie "Chhapaak" for her support to the "tukde-tukde gang" and the opposition Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to stop "crushing India's soul", just about everybody had a view that was expressed widely on social media and beyond.

Polarising hashtags trended on Twitter -- a "#boycott chhapaak" competing with "#I support Deepika" and "#Chhapaak Dekho Tapaak Se".

On Tuesday evening, Deepika made a surprise visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University to express solidarity with the students who had been attacked.

Her decision to stand in silence with JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, who received head injuries during the attack on Sunday evening, at a public meeting in the campus prompted many in the industry and outside to praise her for her "quiet grace" and "courage".

It also prompted trenchant criticism with demands that her Friday release "Chhapaak", a film based on acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, be boycotted.

Though several people in Bollywood have voiced their protest against the attack on students and faculty by a masked mob, the 34-year-old is the rare Bollywood A-lister to do so.

Deepika, who faced death threats and social media vitriol for speaking out during the release of "Padmaavat" two years ago, turns producer with "Chhapaak", directed by Meghna Gulzar, making her stake even higher.

"When she was attacked over 'Padmaavat' very few came forward to support her. She knows what it feels to be targeted and she has shown exemplary courage by supporting the JNU students with quiet grace. More power to Deepika Padukone," veteran actor Shabana Azmi tweeted.

Swara Bhasker, one of the first from the film community to call for action against the perpetrators of Sunday's violence, said "Bollywood just got JNU-ised!"
Veteran director-producer Mahesh Bhatt said, "We are a 'kingdom' of silence no longer!"
"There comes a tipping point in everyone's life. I guess the violence in JNU was
Tagging Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, the former JNU student leader said, "Uncles, agar zameer zinda hai, to ab to kuch boldo (Uncles, if your conscience is alive, now is the time to speak up.)"
Calling her visit a promotional stunt, a social media user said, "Shame Shame
@deepikapadukone. What a move to promote your movie by standing with #TukdeTukdeGang. But we are not fools. We'll make you understand that what mistake have to done. #boycottchhapaak."