Bollywood lends voice and might to protest against JNU violence

Actress Richa Chadha (in white T-shirt) and actor Ali Fazal (behind Chadha) at the Carter Road protest. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Bollywood came out in surprisingly large numbers at Carter Road on Monday evening lending their voice to the protests across the city on Monday against the violence at Delhi's JNU.

There were more than 200 people present at the peaceful gathering that began at 8pm. Among those who came were actress Dia Mirza, director Anurag Kashyap, music composer Vishal Bharadwaj, actress Taapsee Pannu, actress Swara Bhashkar, actor Sourabh Shukla, musician Ankur Tewari and directors Sudhir Mishra, Rajkumar Gupta, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Vasan Bala, Anubhav Sinha and more.

Taapsee Pannu said, "We often make films keeping students in mind, thinking impressionable minds are watching our films. What is happening with them today is wrong, which is why I stand with them." Swara Bhaskar said, "On Sunday, the whole country saw some masked goons vandalising JNU property and beating up students and the Delhi Police was standing outside the gates doing nothing. There are so many questions that the Delhi Police and Home Ministry need to answer."

A protester Ashish Aryan said, "After the JNU incident, I will say that no place is safe in the country. The way students are being thrashed is a conspiracy to suppress the voices of the youth." There was heavy police bandobast during the protest at Carter Road, which ended at 10pm as peacefully as it had begun.

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