Meghna Gulzar calls Deepika's JNU visit a personal choice: Here's why we're not buying it

Deepika Padukone's mere presence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) set in motion a chain of reactions from both sides of political fence, and also somewhat divided Bollywood. Amid imminent release of her prestige project, Chhapaak, Padukone had attended Left-dominated Students' Union protest joining Kanhaiya Kumar (though  CPI(M)leader and former JNUSU president later claimed that he did t see her re as he was busy sloganeering). w, following Chhapaak's release and tepid response it has received at box office, its director has made a claim that is t entirely believable.

READ: PR Machinery Gone Too Far? Mass 'campaign' Surfaces After Deepika Padukone's JNU Visit

Chhapaak director's statement on Deepika's JNU visit 

After flim slowed to a crawl on critical Day 4 following its release - Monday after release when long tail of a film's lifecycle generally begins - Chhapaak director, Meghna Gulzar, in an interview with news ncy PTI described Padukone's visit as a 'personal choice'. 

Asserting that one should kw how to separate 'personal' from 'professional', filmmaker urged audiences to 'divert lens' and look at reason for making a film based on life of an acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. 

Upon carefully analyzing  filmmaker's statement over incident and events that followed Deepika's JNU visit, however, one can say that Raazi helmer's sparingly worded distinction between 'professional' and 'personal' doesn't quite hold.

• Why 'SPICE PR?'

After Padukone's seven-minute visit to JNU, several pictures crediting 'SPICE PR' surfaced that in-turn raised umpteen questions over intent of drop-in. Even as industry sources claimed that her attendance at varsity was to promote her film, Chhapaak, that was due release at that time, ims of visit being circulated by PR ncy - though t on its own handles - gave it away. Padukone's PR manrs were also spotted next to her at JNU campus.

• Why mass campaign? 

Deepika Padukone attended Left-dominated Students' Union protest for just seven minutes, but very soon, what appeared to be a mass social media campaign containing a handful of pictures emerged. A hashtag reading, #ISupportDeepika started trending just minutes after actress' visit. Netizens spotted that tweets under  #ISupportDeepika were found as identically similar and allegedly hinted at PR machinery ahead of her film's release. 

• doubt that Deepika knew ramifications would be 'professional'

As pointed out by Smriti Irani, Deepika Padukone should have kwn what she was getting into, and it is impossible to imagine that she would t have kwn that her visit to tinderbox that JNU had become by that time would t go unticed. Following that, numerous state governments made film tax-free, while re was also significant backlash at or end. re is doubt that JNU gave Chhapaak a higher profile than it would have orwise had.

READ: Deepika Padukone's Chhapaak Slows To A Crawl In Monday Litmus Test, Tanhaji Unstoppable

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