Boycott trend: Vijay Deverakonda, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others react; here’s what they said

‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend has been growing over the last few weeks and it’s a scary situation for filmmakers as well as celebrities. Several stars are voicing their opinions on the ongoing cancel culture and stating how it not only ‘hurts’ the industry but also the economy. Recently, films such as ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, ‘Raksha Bandhan’, and ‘Liger’ faced the wrath of the netizens.

Let’s take a look at some of the reactions from celebrities to the boycott trend.

Vijay Deverakonda

Vijay reacted to the ongoing boycott trend and spoke in favor of Aamir Khan starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. The actor said that not just actors and directors, but others who work on a film are also affected. He said that a single film provides for thousands of families.

Sadly, after his comment, ‘Liger’ also faced boycott calls. Recently, he reacted to the same and said that they all are making movies for the audience and they need that audience.

Akshay Kumar

A section of netizens had trended the hashtag ‘boycott Raksha Bandhan’ ahead of its release. Akshay Kumar opened up about the growing cancel culture in an interview with Hindustan Times and requested everyone not to boycott films as it ‘hurts every industry.’ He said everybody has an opinion now. However, when a film is made, there goes a lot of money and hard work into it, boycotting films affects the economy of India and we actually indirectly are hurting ourselves only.

Anupam Kher

In an interview with news agency ANI, Anupam Kher said that ‘boycott trend’ was not new in the film industry, and good films always find ways to work. The actor added that word of mouth is very important and everyone has the freedom to express themselves.

Kareena Kapoor Khan

Kareena’s latest film ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ faced massive backlash on social media ahead of its release. People demanded a ban on the movie over Aamir’s 2015 statement on ‘growing intolerance in the country. After the film opened to a lukewarm response at the box office, in a conversation with RJ Siddharth Kannan, the actor requested everyone to watch her film as it’s ‘beautiful’ and 250 people worked on it for over two-and-a-half years. She stated that boycotting her film ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is like boycotting good cinema.

Previously, in an interview with India Today, Kareena said that she doesn’t take trolling seriously. She said everyone has an opinion these days so it’s important to learn to ignore certain things otherwise it will just become impossible to live your life.

Taapsee Pannu

Ahead of the release of ‘Dobaaraa’, Taapsee Pannu requested netizens to boycott her film, directed by Anurag Kashyap. As soon as this clip went viral, netzines decided to fulfill her wish and #BoycottDoobaaraa trended on Twitter.

Later, in a press conference, Taapsee talked about the boycott trend and called it a ‘joke’. She stated that if the audience like the actors they will go to watch a film. If they don't like them, they won't. She added that giving the boycott call is like undermining the audience's intelligence.

Shefali Shah

‘Darlings’ actor Shefali Shah, in a recent interview with India Today, said that she feels boycott calls are just a momentary trend and not something that will last. She said that films are a culture like cinema and they can’t die.

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