After sharing an Instagram video condemning the derogatory language used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recent student-led protests in Delhi, actor Bhumi Pednekar became the focus of an online controversy. Some social media users accused her of lecturing from a position of privilege.
In the video, Bhumi objected to clips circulating online that showed protesters — part of the CJP-led demonstrations linked to the NEET-UG paper-leak controversy — hurling abuse at the Prime Minister. She argued that regardless of political disagreement, the country's highest office deserved a baseline of respect, comparing it to how one would speak to elders within their own family. “Looking at the videos surfacing now, the kind of language being used, and the way the youth of our country are speaking — the youth of our country... this isn't how we talk, man. We are talking about someone who holds the highest office in the land today,” she added.
It didn't take long for the clip to draw pushback. Critics online accused the actor of being tone-deaf, framing her remarks as unsolicited 'gyan' delivered from a position far removed from the daily realities of the students she was addressing. One person commented, "Would love to see you speak up when such language is used by our ministers too," and another wrote, "Not one mention of how pellet guns have been used and how kids have been thrashed ???"
Bhumi isn't the only celebrity involved in the debate. Kangana Ranaut, an actor-politician, received similar criticism for referring to the demonstrators as "generation gutter," a phrase she then clarified was directed especially at obscene behaviour during the demonstrations rather than the protest movement as a whole.
This isn't the first time Bhumi has drawn online scrutiny. She was recently trolled over wearing sunglasses during a temple visit, and has periodically faced comments about her appearance on social media — part of a pattern in which the actor's off-screen moments tend to generate as much conversation as her film and streaming work.
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