India’s Bollywood stars slammed for supporting Palestinians, ignoring domestic issues

Some industry observers, however, say the recent Indian general election in which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lost its majority could spur more celebrities to speak up on issues in general.

Among the Bollywood celebrities who have voiced support for Palestinians were Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Varun Dhawan, Dia Mirza and Sonakshi Sinha.

However, in the face of heavy trolling with some users referring to oppressed Hindus in South Asia, several Bollywood stars such as Madhuri Dixit who posted during the “Eyes on Rafah” campaign deleted their social media accounts.

Bollywood actor Zeeshan Ayyub has criticised the celebrities who have highlighted the tragedy in Rafah yet stayed silent on domestic issues that warrant attention.

“I call these celebrities spineless. They will only speak on issues… when it suits them, when they know it is not going to come back to them,” Ayyub, who has appeared in more than 25 films, told This Week in Asia.

Ayyub, who is also an activist, has dismissed the celebrities’ Rafah postings as a publicity stunt. He said: “They want to be remembered for taking a stand on an issue condemned by all major countries. I bet most of these celebrities don’t know in which part of Palestine Rafah is located.”

Following the recent election, Ayyub said some celebrities might be emboldened to question the Indian government. “Now as we have a weaker government at the centre, you might see some of these celebrities sharing a meme or a post critical of the government.”

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Indian filmmaker and producer Onir, who prefers to be known by his first name only, said it was unfair to pick on Bollywood celebrities for speaking