Deepika Padukone- An Indian before anything else

What comes to your mind when the word Deepika is mentioned? Ethereal beauty, petite and svelte lady, grace personified, dignified, superstar, bundle of talent and in any case a celebrity par excellence? In fact she is all the above and much more!

She is arguably one of the most beautiful stars to have adorned Bollywood silver screen ever- right in the class of Madhubala and Madhuri. She has proven her mettle as an actor with some powerful performances, the most recent in Chhapaak being her best to date. She continues to reinvent herself with every movie and every character that she plays. She’s most sought after star, model and personality. Yet she’s very traditional. She was a good obedient and normal child in spite of cult status of her father- all time great India badminton exponent Prakash Padukone. She entered entertainment world on her own merits. She had regular flings and affairs like any normal girl, but she never trespassed the Laxman rekha and at the peak of her career she decided to tie knot with a man of her own choice. Unfortunately (sic), like any normal human being (albeit with a celebrity status) she also has an independent mind and guts to express her views!

JNU, alma mater of such prominent personalities as Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, current FM Nirmala Sitharaman, politicians Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat and several others who have made significant and path breaking contributions in their respective fields, is today being know only for “tukde tukde gang”! Anyone supporting the dastardly act of attack by masked hooligans on hapless students is being labelled anti national! People are going to such an extent that they are boycotting all the brands for which Deepika is a brand ambassador. One moron also termed her visit to JNU to empathise with their cause as a promotional gimmick for her new release!

We all agree that JNU should regain its position as an institution of academic excellence, its students must have an independent view without turning JNU into a place of political hot bed, vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous politicians. Overaged students with no academic goal but sole purpose to attain their political objectives should be packed off from the campus. But in a democratic and free country like India violence has no place and we all must have patience and largesse to imbibe all views and debate those issues that are contrary to our deeply etched beliefs. Nothing per se is wrong or right – everything is contextual.

Let’s celebrate Deepika’s freedom of expression by giving her a standing ovation and not only supporting Chhapaak but all her “good” future body of works! Please continue with Padukone legacy Deepika – your father won gold (world championship) for the country and you win a golden peacock (if not an Oscar) for your performance! May God bless with all the happiness and you in turn shower that on your beloved nation that’s badly in need of love and happiness!