Why The #NotMyDeepika Tweets Are A Good Thing; Fans Of Others Celebrities, Please Take Notes!

Fans of Deepika Padukone are holding her accountable with the trending #NotMyDeepika over a rumour that she might be working with Luv Ranjan. Maybe men who run Bollywood should be held similarly accountable, for some real change?

Fans of Deepika Padukone are holding her accountable with the trending #NotMyDeepika over a rumour that she might be working with Luv Ranjan. Maybe men who run Bollywood should be held similarly accountable, for some real change?

Amidst rumours that Deepika Padukone may be starring in an upcoming Luv Ranjan movie, Deepika Padukone’s fans are trending #NotMyDeepika on Twitter to convince her to refuse the project. While it is nice to see fans asking their favourite female actor to walk the talk when it comes to feminism, we wish that the men who run Bollywood are held accountable by their fans too.

Even as the awareness about feminism grows, there is a commercialization of feminism. A “Feminism-Lite” made palatable for the masses, which often holds up celebrities as “feminists” on the basis of a few soundbytes, irrespective of whether they live up to the ideals of feminism or not.

As someone who writes often about pop culture and feminism, I am more than aware of how abusive fans can be towards someone who calls out their favourite celebrity. Even if the actor/actress has made some very questionable choices!

This makes the #NotMyDeepika tweets a pure joy to read! Finally, here is a fandom that is holding their favourite actor accountable!

Recently, Deepika Padukone was seen visiting Luv Ranjan, along with Ranbir Kapoor, leading to rumours that they may be working on a movie together. As many know, Luv Ranjan is the maker of misogynistic movies like Pyaar Ka Punchnaama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and has been accused of sexually harassing a female actor.

Earlier, actor Nushrat Bharucha who has worked in multiple movies with Luv Ranjan had come out in support of him. Responding to that, the accuser wrote, “Just because he was nice to you and did not put you through the traumatic experience went through, does not make my story false. You are free to portray him in a positive light because that is your experience with him, but it is extremely low of you all to call me a liar.”

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Deepika fans agree, because they have trended #NotMyDeepika on Twitter, requesting her not to work with a #MeToo accused.

Some women wrote that as those who have experienced sexual harassment themselves, they expect Deepika to stand for them.

Others pointed out that Deepika is admired not just for her work, but also her principled, honest and open personality, and that she will lose that credibility if she were to work in this movie.

Unanimously, they reminded Deepika of her social responsibility as an admired public figure.

They also gave themselves a well-deserved pat on the back for not blindly supporting their favourite actor, and said that #NotMyDeepika is not a hate trend, but a sign of their confidence in her that she would do the right thing

For many, seeing the #NotMyDeepika tweets is a sign of hope that #MeToo was not futile.

At the time of writing this post, Deepika has not responded to this request from her fans. We hope that she will respect their wishes.

Ranbir Kapoor and Ajay Devgn are also working on this movie. Ranbir Kapoor, in fact, has gushed about how much he is looking forward to working with Luv Ranjan.

Ajay Devgn has not only worked with #MeToo accused Alok Nath, but also has defended that decision on multiple occasions, even as he claims that, “When the entire #MeToo Movement happened, I along with many of my film industry colleagues categorically expressed that I respect every single woman at the work place and I would not stand for any unfairness or atrocity against them. Nothing about my stand has changed.”

However, no one is pointing a finger at them and holding them accountable.

While it is great that we are asking female actors to show solidarity with victims, Bollywood still remains a patriarchal space wherein men have all the power. So, it is extremely important to hold the men responsible too. Only then can we make Bollywood a safe space for ALL women.

#NotMyDeepika is fabulous, but we also need a #ShameShameRanbir and a #WalkTheTalkAjay!

Image source: YouTube

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