Meghna Gulzar says Deepika Padukone's visit to JNU in 2020 caused 'a dent' on 'Chhapaak'

Meghna Gulzar and Deepika Padukone

Back in January 2020, days before the release of her film 'Chhapaak', Deepika Padukone landed in controversy for her visit to the Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) in Delhi. Her five minutes silent visit to the campus caused a stir as calls for boycott of the film and the actor was led by a section of people. 'Chhapaak' was directed by Meghna Gulzar who has spoken about the impact of Deepika's stand on the film.

'Chhapaak' is a biographical drama based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Aggarwal. Deepika who played the protagonist was also the co-producer of the film. Meghna recently said that the entire episode did derail the film and what it stood for. Speaking at the Indian Express Adda event, she said, "I am sure that the answer is pretty obvious. Yes, of course, it made a dent on the film. Because the conversation went from acid violence, which I intended the film to amplify, to somewhere else. So, of course it impacted the film. There is no denying that."

In 2020, a group of masked miscreants entered the JNU campus and assaulted students in the Sabarmati hostel with sticks and metal rods. The situation worsened when students of the university were accused of raising antinational slogans on the campus. Eyewitnesses, including students injured in the attack, as well as opposition parties and left-wing organizations, accused the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of orchestrating the attacks. The attack has been described by some as a way to prevent protesting students from raising their voice against the fee hike at the university and CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).

Before heading to JNU, Deepika Padukone had spoken about the violence against students at the JNU campus in an interview to NDTV. "I feel proud to see that we aren't scared to express ourselves... I think the fact that we are thinking about the country and its future.... Whatever may be our point of view, it's nice to see," she had said.

Meanwhile, Meghna Gulzar is currently gearing up for the theatrical release of her film 'Sam Bahadur' starring Vicky Kaushal, Sanya Mahotra, and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film will be released on December 1.