Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa's open letter on Friday, seeking an apology from certain Bollywood A-listers for what he believed was a wild drug binge, has met with deathly silence by the stars.
Sirsa wrote an open letter asking several stars to apologise for being a part of what he believed was a "drug party" at Karan Johar's residence, because he felt these top stars set a bad example as role models. These include Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Vicky Kaushal --
The stars continue to remain mum despite the high of controversy, which stemmed after filmmaker Johar shared a candid video from his party on Instagram, captioning it "Saturday night vibes".
My OPEN LETTER to Bollywood
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) August 2, 2019
Urging all to read & share tagging Bollywood stars through Instagram & Twitter
We have #FanMoments with them; but now is the time for #QuestionMoment@thetribunechd @ANI @htTweets @TimesNow @ABPNews @republic @punjabkesari @News18India @timesofindia pic.twitter.com/vdPxbPdRbc
Instead, some star-struck fans took to social media castigating Sirsa for what they felt was an interference in the lives of their beloved movie stars.
In retort, Sirsa wrote in his letter: "Rather than asking me to apologise, I wish Bollywood stars had the guts to say SORRY to the nation for breaking the trust."
The funny thing is that these stars are tweeting and posting on social media about pretty much everything else, but say sorry.
Over the past days, they continue to use social media as a personal diary, sharing travel updates, engaging in banter with friends from the industry, promoting forthcoming projects and pushing PR-led content.
Arjun Kapoor, one of the actors visible in the video, has chosen to post shots of himself, share travel updates and use his star status to push sister Anshula's charity venture instead of even acknowledging what happened at the party.
His close friend Malaika Arora has posted photographs of her recent magazine shoot and expressed her love for animals. Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, who was also seen in the video, is actively commenting on social media posts of other celebrities while Varun Dhawan is busy posting details about his next film, "Street Dancer 3D".
Johar himself continues to remain socially active, putting out wishes for his friends and backing initiatives. Deepika Padukone continues reminding fans of her obsession with flowers.
However, there has been not one post by any of the stars present at the party apologising to the nation.
The ones in show business who have opened up on the issue, however, would tell you that even if these celebrities are not in a mood to confess or apologise, their look says it all. They were all high on drugs.
"That look isn't a drunk look. Being drunk makes you loud, cocaine makes you calm, LSD makes you love each other and acid makes you think god is here. I am often told that cocaine is a confidence booster. But what about when the high is over?," said rapper Hard Kaur, about the stars in the video.
On Tuesday, Sirsa had shared the video, slamming the celebrities for flaunting a "drugged state". "#UDTABollywood - Fiction Vs Reality. Watch how the high and mighty of Bollywood proudly flaunt their drugged state. I raise my voice against #DrugAbuse by these stars," he had posted.
Since then, social media has been divided. While many agree with the Akalai Dal MLA that stars should desist from making public such behaviour because they set a bad example on the impressionable minds that worship them, others say this their private space.
Speaking to IANS earlier, veejay Nikhil Chinapa felt the issue of drugs was a social problem. "It is not related only to the worlds of music and films. People from the world of sports also have drug problems.
From what I read, the major issue, as far as drugs go, does not concern illegal drugs as much as it concerns pharmacy drugs. People are addicted to painkillers and cough syrups. That is the bigger issue you should talk of," said Chinapa.
Model-actor Rajneesh Duggal pointed out: "Drugs are available everywhere. It is a personal choice, and everyone from stars to commoners should keep in mind that if it is banned, it shouldn't be done."
Deejay-actor Siddharth Bhardwaj says drugs freely flow across the party circuit in Bombay. "Like all over the world, drugs are easily available in Bombay, too. But actors should be careful about what they put out on social media," Siddharth said.
