Deepika Padukone and Ajay Devgn both have movies releasing this week - only one of them is a real hero

• Deepika Padukone became one of the select few - and probably the only A-list star - to have reacted to the JNU mob violence.
  
• She met the JNUSU president and left without speaking a word.
  
• A few marketing experts believe that she is playing the ‘promotion’ card.
  

Deepika Padukone has often been criticised for her ‘safe’ fashion sense. What she may lack in sartorial experimentation, she might make up for with her actions. She became one of the select few - and probably the only A-list star - to have reacted to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) mob violence.

She met the JNUSU president and left without saying a word. Nonetheless, it spoke volumes on how few entertainment industry leaders have shared their views on controversial subjects during sensitive political crises. Even the reigning trio - Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and the usually outspoken Aamir Khan too stayed away from commenting on it.

“It is a bold move as when stars step out and speak on political, religious and economic issues, they are targeted,” Harish Bijoor, a marketing consultant and branding expert told Business Insider.

For the last few weeks, Padukone has been wearing the mask of an acid attack victim and walking around the streets of Mumbai in a unique promotional campaign. However, her solidarity to JNU has unmasked many top actors who had refused to take a stand on burning issues like the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) — the bone of contention which led to the attack on the university.

Ajay Devgn, a leading actor in the Bollywood industry himself, had candidly accepted his inability to speak on the issue. “If we (himself and co-actor Saif Ali Khan) say something, it will offend someone and my film Tanhaji will be banned. Who will suffer? The producer, that’s me,” he told the Quint in an interview.

From protests to theatres
However, Ajay’s problems might be different from that of Deepika. In his movie, he plays the army general of Hindu rulers — the Marathas — so it can be defined as a patriotic movie. But Deepika’s movie Chappak which is to be released on January 10 — based on the real-life story of an acid attack victim — is expected to draw young, urban audiences.

And, most college-going students are busy protesting - and a few naysayers would indicate that she is trying her best to bring protesting audiences to theaters. Anti-CAA protests already ate into the business of another possible top grosser, Dabangg3.

Her last release — Padmaavat — gained from the excessive negative publicity it received.

It also helps that Deepika plays the role of a girl seeking social justice. However, few marketing experts believe that she is playing the ‘promotion’ card. Some others say that she could be playing safe.

“Nobody who has a film coming out is talking because this move can go either way, and lead to boycotting. But then again, Deepika never spoke during the violence at Jamia Milia,” opined a top branding expert who refused to be identified.

All publicity need not be good publicity

Bijoor said Deepika’s persona does not make him believe that it’s a publicity stunt. “I do not think it’s a marketing gimmick. If it is, then it’s a bad one and won’t work because people will see through it,” he said.

There is some backlash from Twitter already.


However, this is not the first time that Deepika has made bold moves uncharacteristic to Bollywood stars. She openly spoke about her struggles with clinical depression. In addition, she took a very powerful media house when it tweeted a picture of her cleavage in a bad light.

The old saying goes — all publicity is good publicity. However, this might not be true anymore in a country simmering with political, religious and ideological differences. Since there are enough supporters on either side of the spectrum, Padukone might gain as many fans as she lost. Whether her movie will gain from it not — only time will tell.


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