Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, Vishal Bhardwaj, Taapsee Pannu lead the way as protests erupt in Mumbai

Indian cinema might have tried to stay away from active politics in recent past, but that seems to be changing. The recent protests at Bandra, Mumbai, saw directors Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, Vasan Bala, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, actresses Taapsee Pannu and Dia Mirza lead a massive sit-in to protest against the uncontrolled violence against the students in Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. 

With accusations against the ruling party of having perpetrated the violence, there has been an outpouring of support from across the country. From students and teachers in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), IIM-Ahmedabad, to Mumbai University, students have taken to the street to speak out against the violence wreaked upon students. 

While Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, and Swara Bhasker have already acquired certain notoriety due to their social media presence speaking against the ruling government, they were accompanied by Zoya Akhtar, writer-director Reema Kagti, director-composer Vishal Bhardwaj, lyricist-writer Swanand Kirkire, directors Neeraj Ghaywan and Vasan Bala, as well as singer Ankur Tewari, comedian Kunal Kamra among others. 

Speaking to NDTV.com at the sit-in, director Anubhav Sinha said, "We were trying to send out a message to the people who were violated in the most brutal fashion yesterday that we are with you. We can feel your pain. If need be, we will stand up again with you." 

Among the protestors were artistes Ali Fazal, Richa Chadha, Rahul Bose, Shweta Tripathi, Vipin Sharma, rapper SlowCheeta (Chaitnya Sharma), director Hansal Mehta also joined the students on Carter Road in Bandra. Vishal Dadlani even joined the protestors in rendition of the song 'Yeh Jo Des Hai Mera' from Swades (2005). 

The sit-in protest also saw Vishal Bhardwaj recite a poem about the growing agitations across the country, and Swanand Kirkire following it up with a rendition of 'Baawra Mann' from Hazaaron Khwaahishein Aisi (2005). Directed by Sudhir Mishra, the film actually deals with the rise of student revolutionaries during the period of Emergency in 1975. 

Meanwhile, Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur also expressed their sympathy to those hurt in the violence at the JNU during the trailer launch of Malang in Mumbai yesterday.