Kangana Ranaut criticises Bollywood’s silence on CAA protests
Bollywood’s silence regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Jamia Nagar has been largely criticized. Kangana Ranaut recently addressed this criticism, saying the outrage is completely justified.
In an interview with Times of India, Ranaut said, “The actors should be ashamed of themselves. I have no illusions about the fact that Bollywood is full of cowards who are full of themselves. All they do is just look into the mirror 20 times a day and when they’re asked they say we have electricity and we have access to everything, we are privileged, why should we be bothered about the country. Some of them even brag about it, that we are artists, we should not be concerned about the nation, they should be dragged for this and that is why I have come out in the open to question them. Some of them are just hiding behind their comfort zone and thinking that all they are above the nation, they’re above the people. They’re above everything and everyone just because they have electricity, water and beautiful houses to live in. Well, they are in for a very big shock because people are noticing how indifferent they are to the nation and its people and to what is going on in the nation. They are indifferent and that’s why I think that trend is absolutely justified.”
When asked if celebrities avoid speaking about politics out of fear, she said, “No, they live under the fear of everything. They are the most scared human beings I’ve ever seen. They are sissies. They are cowards. They’re spineless people. That’s why they bully outsiders, they bully girls because they are cowards. And I feel there is really no hope for them. We need to stop projecting them as icons, we need to stop projecting them as our torchbearers, we need to see them for who they are. They are just social media, whatever makeup and clothes posts that they do, pumping their muscles in the gym the whole day. That’s who they are. If have the clarity of who they are, we will not be disappointed. So we need to have that clarity and we need to know who our real role models are.”
Ranaut herself has been supportive of the current government. Discussing the CAA, she said, “We are at the threshold of a great possibility now’s the time where decisive decisions are being taken. And we will finally know what is India what is not India who is an Indian who is not an Indian because that clarity no one has yet, you know the governments before have made sure that we do not know our borders and we do not know our population. That’s why we have so many issues to deal with: we have a population explosion, we have malnutrition, we have rape issue the gender issue, the gender bias. There are so many issues that we need to deal with. Well, there is a time for charity but charity begins at home we need to make sure that people are not dying at home and then with the charity will happen, whereas and when the time comes”. Her stance on the police violence against student protests in Delhi is unclear.
