Director Vivek Agnihotri shared his thoughts on Deepika Padukone visiting the JNU campus during the student protests in 2020, which caused controversy.
Deepika Padukone showed up at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2020, days before the release of her film Chhapaak. It caused immense controversy and calls for a ban on her film. Now, in an interview with Subhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, director Vivek Agnohotri has commented on the incident and shared that he is sure that the actor had no clue about the politics of the place and went there as part of film promotion. (Also read: Genelia D’Souza works for ’10 hours a day’, says it’s not impossible even as Deepika Padukone demands 8-hour shifts)
Vivek Agnihotri guaranteed that Deepika Padukone was totally unaware of JNU politics.
What Vivek said
During the interaction, Vivek said, “Unko pata bhi nahi tha ki kaha jaa rahi hain. I can guarantee ki Deepika ko pata bhi nahi hoga ki kyu kya waha ki politics kya hain. Dumb ki baat nahi hain but unko ye bola hoga PR walon ne ki ye ek opportunity he film ko promote karne ki aur ye political jagah hain aur apni film bhi politics se juri hui hain so let’s go. Chali ayi hongi isliye! I don’t think they bothered… if she had known, she would not have come (She did not even know where she was going. I can guarantee that she was not aware of the politics of that place and was told by her PR that this situation fit well for the promotion of her film. So she went there).”
‘You play with fire, you get burned’
He went on to add, “You play with fire, you get burned. I don’t know her personally, so I don’t know what ideology she aligns with. I do know that she is a very smart and intelligent woman. Had she known that this is a politically sensitive place and that it might impact her career, I assume she would not have gone. During film promotions, there are too many people telling stars what to do and where to speak. Her PR was mistaken, they thought it was an event. But it wasn’t an event. You can’t touch politics and go out like that.”
Deepika was last seen in Kalki 2898 AD. In the last few weeks, she has been in the limelight for exiting Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, over the latter’s refusal to accept an 8-hour shift.
Vivek’s next film is The Bengal Files, exploring a lesser-known chapter of Indian history. It will release on 5 September.
News / Entertainment / Bollywood / Deepika Padukone had no idea about JNU politics, Vivek Agnihotri says her PR must have told her to go for promotion