Bollywood channelled the “Those who can, do,” mantra as the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests over the NEET paper leak row continued to pour into the streets. Imran Khan and Huma Qureshi were among several Indian celebrities pictured extending their solidarity to the student outcry, which has since taken shape into a political movement, by joining the youth in the streets of Delhi and Mumbai.
Meanwhile, others, including Alia Bhatt and R Madhavan, chose to finally break silence on the issue via reactions shared on social media, as sit-in demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar entered their fourth day on Thursday, July 23. The event has especially gained grand levels of attention across media platforms, with countless influencers and content creators also turning their cameras on at the massive protests that have even become the site for violent police crackdown.
Young citizens continue to appeal to public figures, especially celebrities with massive followings on SNS, to speak out on the issue, given the power held by their influential platforms and reach. The climbing support from renowned personalities may have forced others on the fame spectrum to hold themselves back from unleashing their “unpopular” opinions targeting student demands.
Nonetheless, the list also includes certain others, mostly actors-turned-politicians, who chose to pick the other path. They’ve since branded protesters as anti-government for primarily demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and a transparent investigation into examination leaks.
On the flip side, some of the biggest Bollywood names, such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, have still chosen to stay mum on the issue.
Celebrities who joined the Jantar Mantar protests in Delhi
Veteran stars Shabana Azmi and Prakash Raj were among the very few film industry icons to rally behind the students and call out Bollywood’s “silence.”
Azmi, a former member of the Rajya Sabha, has particularly been supporting the movement since the onset of the protests, even joining citizens in the ‘Chalo Sansad March’ towards the Parliament on July 20. Taking to social media, she eventually shared a video from Day 1 capturing herself and Raj in a truck with fellow protesters. The senior actress has since divulged that she and her husband, legendary screenwriter Javed Akhtar have penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to initiate a dialogue with the youth.
“Climbing up with the help of young colleagues to the protest site at Jantar Mantar to demand reforms within our educational system and an overhaul of the entire system. Allocate 6 per cent of GDP to education, public health and women’s empowerment to measure the success of our country,” she wrote on Instagram. Elsewhere, she was seen reciting poems by her poet father, Kaifi Azmi, weighing in on the cost of rising up and speaking the truth.
Bollywood’s sibling duo Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem joined the student protest at Jantar Mantar in the early hours of Thursday. Videos circulating online, including one shared by vlogger Syed Umair Ali, captured them marching alongside protesters at the Delhi monument.
Unapologetic as ever, Swara Bhasker also expressed her support for the ongoing protest by visiting Jantar Mantar in Delhi and even meeting activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose continuing hunger strike has entered dangerous territory.
“They are not coming because they have seen what happened to me. They know that if they speak up, the same thing could happen to them. The situation in 2010-11 was different. The government may have had its flaws and may have been involved in corruption, but it has gone much further. People, activists and students have been kept in jail for years without bail, without trials, and without any valid reason,” she told The Lallantop.
Celebrities who joined the Mumbai protests
Aamir Khan faced heat for steering clear of the the issue despite having once hosted a show like Satayamev Jayate, And yet, the same audience found comfort in his nephew and early 2000’s rom-com heartthrob Imran Khan, as he stepped out to join the youth-driven protests at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
A youngster’s viral reel on Instagram documenting his presence at the scene playfully quipped that the situation has slipped so far out of hand that even the “privileged” had decided to walk among the rest.
“I’m here to show support with all of the students, who work hard and whose hard work was invalidated and discarded. I’m here because this is the fight for the future of our nation. All the students of Mother India are here today, and I’m here to show my support to them,” Khan told The IV Pillar News at the protest.
A day before he joined the masses on the street, Imran had solemnly extended solidarity to those participating in the demonstrations in an Instagram post.
“Something broke in me today. Watching as police gassed and battered student protestors… how could I make sense of this? These students who worked hard, only to be failed by the system. These people who asked to be heard, only to be met with silence. These citizens who stood up to show what matters to them… beaten down and disowned by the establishment,” he wrote online.
Other viral visuals on social media confirmed rapper Raftaar, actors Jim Sarbh, Ayesha Khan and Alaya F, and singer Anuv Jain joining the powerful display of solidarity in Mumbai as well.
Having joined the Mumbai crowd, comedian Abish Mathew ended up being detained by the police at the protest site alongside several students. He eventually confirmed via Instagram that he had safely returned home.
“Friends, family & well wishers, Thank you so much for reaching out and offering help. I am safe and I’m back home! To the best of my knowledge, I & my batch of detainees were treated with respect. I appreciate the cops at the station, who did not make it a scary environment, fed us & kept us relaxed. But just wanted to say how proud I am of everyone who turned up, especially my comedian friends. I know I’ll have more to say & share tomorrow but for now I’ll end with this: If fear was the weapon they’ve used to scare us, then I’m afraid they’ve only fooled us,” Mathew wrote on Instagram.
Stand-up artist Raunaq Rajani was yet another renowned figure to be detained at the scene. “Hello, lots of people texting me and asking if everything is ok? I’m out of detainment, all good, thank you very much. Inquilab Zindabad,” he assured his followers of his safety in a video.
Support on social media
The likes of Sonakshi Sinha, 3 Idiots star Omi Vaidya, comedian Samay Raina, Soni Razdan, Vishal Dadlani already relentlessly extended their support through social media in the early days of the movements. Today, some others joined the ranks by sharing their takes on Instagram. Esteemed industry veterans Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah offered some of the sharpest rebukes criticising authorities behind hostilities against student protesters while also slamming those choosing to stay silent despite the youth’s suffering.
“As someone who has always believed in the limitless potential of India’s youth, I share the concern and disappointment felt by so many students and parents today,” Dhurandhar and Rang De Basanti actor R Madhavan wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “An education system must inspire confidence, fairness, and opportunity. Incidents such as examination paper leaks undermine that trust and can deeply affect the hopes, hard work and dreams of countless young people and their families – especially in a country like India, where education plays such a defining role in shaping lives.”
A “heartbroken” Alia Bhatt shared a warming note for those partaking in student-led protests. Applauding their courage for taking a strong stand, she said, “Behind every student standing their ground is a dream, a family’s hope, a journey of countless sacrifices. They represent not just themselves but everyone who has supported them, while creating a better path for those who will come after them. Their courage humbles me. Their resolve is a mirror held up to all of us, asking whether we are truly listening to the very people who will inherit and shape this country’s tomorrow. For the students. By the students. The future is theirs Jai Hind.”
Salman Khan eventually pulled himself out of the silent rut as well by finally speaking out against the peaceful movement being flipped into a hostile takeover by the police in an Instagram post.
Kareena Kapoor Khan also took to her Instagram profile, noting that the youth’s calls for better regulation had become “impossible to ignore,” adding that “education only works if children believe in it. And they stop believing the moment they suspect that honesty, hard work and merit don’t actually count.”
Calling students the “future of our country,” Varun Dhawan spoke out against students’ dreams, which encapsulate “the dream of an entire family,” being “crushed.” Backing protesters’ “right to ask questions when they feel the system has failed them,” the Hindi movie star appealed to the authorities to engage with the students’ concerns and move towards a “fair, transparent, and meaningful resolution that ensures accountability.”
Reacting to the mistreatment of students at the Delhi protest, Rakhi Sawant broke down in tears in a video and condemned the countless instances of lathi charge. She even directly addressed PM Modi and questioned why those in power were subjecting students to such brutality.
Celebrities speaking out against protests
Bollywood icons-turned-BJP members Hema Malini and Kangana Ranaut were quick to vocally protest against the surging demonstrations.
“If there is a problem, it should be discussed properly. Protesting in this manner won’t achieve anything. As for the country’s youth and the education system, our Modi government has always stood by them and done a great deal of work; given that, the protests you are staging now make no sense at all. All I would say is that this matter should be resolved through dialogue,” Hema Malini, who represents the Mathura constituency in Lok Sabha, spoke out, as quoted by ANI.
Meanwhile, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut told reporters outside the Parliament, “You cannot arm-twist the government into deciding who to sack and who to keep. This arm-twisting is not good. It is the right of the government chosen by the people to decide how to run the government. If you feel so strongly, you should stand for election yourself.”
National Award-winning Bollywood lyricist Manoj Muntashir Shukla came down hard on the CJP-led protests at Jantar Mantar, saying they were hijacked by anti-nationalists.
“I won’t go to Jantar Mantar because I won’t feel good standing with the people who are representing this protest,” he told Times Now. “The youth of this country deserves better than the Cockroach Janta Party…Nobody in this world will defend the NEET paper leak. Yeh galat hua (that was wrong). Even if a single life was claimed, then the entire system will have to be answerable.”
Muntashir alleged that the protests no longer served their original purpose: “Are they even talking about the NEET paper leak at Jantar Mantar? I have been seeing the kind of speeches being given and the kind of people coming.”
“People who said slogans like ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ and people who believe Kashmir is not a part of India are taking part in this protest, and with full responsibility I call them anti-nationals,” he added.