Last evening, Deepika Padukone stunned the country by joining the protesting students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.
The actress’s visit to the university came as a surprise since her film Chhapaak (2020) is set for release on Friday.
A day before Padukone, Varun Dhawan, too, had spoken out against the violence perpetrated by masked goons on the university campus on Sunday 5 January.
A day after the attacks, Dhawan issued a detailed statement on Instagram Story, which stays for 24 hours. He wrote, “Violence in a place of education by people hiding their faces is something the police cannot allow. Political ideologies can be different but eventually we are all Indians. This cannot be allowed. Students don't deserve this. Police and government have to provide safety.”
Yesterday, the actor also spoke to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. "Cannot stay neutral on such issues. It’s dangerous and sad if masked people enter an educational institution and all this happens," he said.
Actor Arjun Kapoor too came out with a short but bold statement on Instagram Story. He said, “Honestly we are fu**ed as a civilisation and society.”
On 5 January a group of masked men entered the JNU campus armed with iron rods, lathis and other weapons and attacked students and teachers in a three-hour campaign of mayhem, leaving several people severely injured.