Why The #NotMyDeepika Tweets Are A Good Thing; Fans Of Others Celebrities, Please Take Notes!

Fans of Deepika Padukone are holding her accountable with the trending #NotMyDeepika over a rumour that she might be working with Luv Ranjan. Maybe men who run Bollywood should be held similarly accountable, for some real change?

Amidst rumours that Deepika Padukone may be starring in an upcoming Luv Ranjan movie, Deepika Padukone’s fans are trending #NotMyDeepika on Twitter to convince her to refuse the project. While it is nice to see fans asking their favourite female actor to walk the talk when it comes to feminism, we wish that the men who run Bollywood are held accountable by their fans too.

Even as the awareness about feminism grows, there is a commercialization of feminism. A “Feminism-Lite” made palatable for the masses, which often holds up celebrities as “feminists” on the basis of a few soundbytes, irrespective of whether they live up to the ideals of feminism or not.

This makes the #NotMyDeepika tweets a pure joy to read! Finally, here is a fandom that is holding their favourite actor accountable!

Recently, Deepika Padukone was seen visiting Luv Ranjan, along with Ranbir Kapoor, leading to rumours that they may be working on a movie together. As many know, Luv Ranjan is the maker of misogynistic movies like Pyaar Ka Punchnaama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety and has been accused of sexually harassing a female actor.

Earlier, actor Nushrat Bharucha who has worked in multiple movies with Luv Ranjan had come out in support of him. Responding to that, the accuser wrote, “Just because he was nice to you and did not put you through the traumatic experience went through, does not make my story false. You are free to portray him in a positive light because that is your experience with him, but it is extremely low of you all to call me a liar.”

https://twitter.com/desijourno/status/1051729653780467713

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Deepika fans agree, because they have trended #NotMyDeepika on Twitter, requesting her not to work with a #MeToo accused.

Some women wrote that as those who have experienced sexual harassment themselves, they expect Deepika to stand for them.

for a young girl like me who have also expierence harrasment in her childhood , this is so disheartening and heartbreaking
this is just not acceptable from a grown and established women , please don’t lose your loved ones because of this one wrong step u have taken #notmydeepika

— chittar peine jabariya jodi dekho bc (@mrssoftmalhotra) July 20, 2019

I too have been sexually harassed by men when I was young and seeing a woman that I look upto promote someone who’s been accused of something similar really hurts. If women don’t stand up for each other then who will? #NotMyDeepika

— r. (@MonaDarlingx) July 20, 2019

Others pointed out that Deepika is admired not just for her work, but also her principled, honest and open personality, and that she will lose that credibility if she were to work in this movie.

On a side note if it were for any other actor or actress there would be zero backlash because most of them have zero credibility. Deepika has built a reputation for herself and her ideals. Her fans don’t just stan Deepika the actor but the Deepika the human being #notmydeepika

— Akash Kumar (@AkashxDeepika) July 20, 2019

Do y’all remember this? She was sorry to let us fans down, despite it not being her fault. This is the Deepika i know & admire. I still believe she values us all too much & our opinions matter to her. @deepikapadukone i hope you won’t let us down this time. #notmydeepika pic.twitter.com/djaK5kkO4l

— Sanaya (@shahsanaya11) July 20, 2019

Unanimously, they reminded Deepika of her social responsibility as an admired public figure.

#notmydeepika When you work with an abuser, you not only nullify the attempts of the survivors to finally achieve some justice, you also stain your own legacy as well. You'll lose respect and credentials as an artist @deepikapadukone Don't do this.

— Celeste (@RisenyetAgain) July 20, 2019

Being the top actress of your country you have many people looking upto you, it is YOUR responsibility to set the right example. Are you even aware of how you are gonna promote someone who has sexually harassed other women by working in his film? #NotMyDeepika

— r. (@MonaDarlingx) July 20, 2019

They also gave themselves a well-deserved pat on the back for not blindly supporting their favourite actor, and said that #NotMyDeepika is not a hate trend, but a sign of their confidence in her that she would do the right thing

Well #DeepikaPadukone got an amazing fan base, all so wise. They are really not like other celebrity's fans. They like and support her but not blindly and that's how fans are supposed to be. Shame on those fans who abuse someone for not liking who they do. #notmydeepika

— Prabal Prince (@prabal_prince) July 20, 2019

Deepika’s makeup artist liked this tweet #NotMyDeepika pic.twitter.com/6DoDHN3Gy8

— r. (@MonaDarlingx) July 20, 2019

We have done everything we can and I'm sure she's aware of our concerns at this point. If worse comes to worst and she proceeds to announce this film I'm just gonna go ahead and state that I might have stanned the wrong person but I was never in the wrong fandom. #notmydeepika

— Eli (@belisaav) July 20, 2019

For many, seeing the #NotMyDeepika tweets is a sign of hope that #MeToo was not futile.

This whole trend has given light to the luv ranjan accusations and brought awareness to people who weren’t familiar with it. Has been a success no matter the outcome from deepika herself. #notmydeepika

— mashal (@partyypants) July 20, 2019

At the time of writing this post, Deepika has not responded to this request from her fans. We hope that she will respect their wishes.

Ranbir Kapoor and Ajay Devgn are also working on this movie. Ranbir Kapoor, in fact, has gushed about how much he is looking forward to working with Luv Ranjan.

Ajay Devgn has not only worked with #MeToo accused Alok Nath, but also has defended that decision on multiple occasions, even as he claims that, “When the entire #MeToo Movement happened, I along with many of my film industry colleagues categorically expressed that I respect every single woman at the work place and I would not stand for any unfairness or atrocity against them. Nothing about my stand has changed.”

However, no one is pointing a finger at them and holding them accountable.

While it is great that we are asking female actors to show solidarity with victims, Bollywood still remains a patriarchal space wherein men have all the power. So, it is extremely important to hold the men responsible too. Only then can we make Bollywood a safe space for ALL women.

#NotMyDeepika is fabulous, but we also need a #ShameShameRanbir and a #WalkTheTalkAjay!

Image source: YouTube

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