'It Is Not About Being Dumb': Vivek Agnihotri Opens Up About Deepika Padukone's Visit To JNU In 2020

In 2020, while promoting her film Chhapaak in Delhi, Deepika Padukone visited Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to show her support towards the protesting students after goons had entered the campus and attacked people. Due to this, the actress faced a lot of backlash on social media, and #BoycottDeepika and #BoycottChhapaak were the top trends on X (then Twitter). Now, recently, during an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri opened up about the actress' visit to JNU (The segment which has now been deleted from the podcast).

He said, "I can guarantee that Deepika had no idea about politics there." When he was asked if he wants to say that Deepika is so dumb, the filmmaker said, "It is not about being dumb. She must have told her that this is an opportunity to promote your film because this is a political place, and our film is also political, so let's go. If she had known, she wouldn’t have come."

When told Agnihotri about how till now Deepika has to face #BoycottDeepika from the right wing, the filmmaker said, "This is a game. This (politics) is fire, so you will get burned."

He further said, "If she knew this was a politically sensitive place, and because of this, her career would be affected. I assume she wouldn't have gone there."

Vivek Agnihotri Upcoming Movies

Vivek Agnihotri's next directorial is The Bengal Files. The movie stars Mithun Chakraborty, Darshan Kumar, Sourav Das, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi, and others. After The Tashkent Files (2019) and The Kashmir Files (2022), it is the third film in the 'files' franchise that he has made.

Deepika Padukone Upcoming Movies

Deepika has signed two films post-becoming a mother. She will be seen in Shah Rukh Khan starrer King, and Allu Arjun's next which will be directed by Atlee.