Mumbai: It could be the result of the edginess brought on by the delay in release of his latest Bollywood film, PM Narendra Modi, or the headiness of the exit poll predictions, but actor Vivek Oberoi seems to have misplaced his sense of ‘Vivegam’.
He put out a meme, purportedly on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which showed his former flame, actor Aishwarya Rai, with Salman Khan in one panel labelled ‘Opinion Poll’, then Aishwarya with him in a second panel labelled ‘Exit Poll’ and then a third panel with her husband Abhishek Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya, labelled ‘Final Result’.
“Haha! Creative! No politics here… just life,” Oberoi captioned the photo. However, to the public eye, it seemed a clear-cut case of kiss and tell and they told him so unflinchingly. Oberoi had dated the actor — former Miss World — in the early 2000s. More importantly, the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission took instant notice of the ‘creativity’.
Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson, Maharashtra Women’s Commission, said the commission would send a notice to the actor for his tweet, which is “disrespectful towards women”. “What he has tweeted cannot be considered as ‘creativity’… He is a responsible actor and we did not expect this behaviour from him,’’ Rahatkar tweeted.
“It is hardly hilarious. It’s crass, disgusting and reveals the sick mentality of its ‘creator’@vivekoberoi. Evident that the man lacks everything – political as well as life skills,” Swati Maliwal, chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women, said. “Disgusting and classless,” Sonam tweeted.
Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit also slammed the actor. “Dear Vivek Oberoi, this is absolutely distasteful on so many levels. How can you call this cheap remark ‘creative’ in any way? Didn’t expect this from an otherwise cultured person like you,” Pandit tweeted. “I thought it was a troll account. Shame on Vivek,” read another tweet. Another post said the actor should have at least thought twice about ragging a minor, Aishwarya’s daughter, into the controversy.
“Please don’t spread this pic, it is demeaning to a woman and a torture to her child, too! Please, it is a humble request! #VivekOberoi #NarendraModi,” it said. “I’m pretty sure #AishwariaRai chose a man with character. This is really cheap. There’s a fine line between Humour and Insult to individual. Increase your Celeb status to 1 per cent of what she has achieved, at least.
Disgusting @vivekoberoi #VivekOberoi,” another user tweeted. “This is in such poor taste. One’s personal life is not to be discussed here… remember there are 4 individuals who are father/ mother/ brother /sister…and everyone has moved on…shame,” a user commented on the post.
Comparing the way Salman addresses Aishwarya in public with Vivek’s tweet, a user wrote, “One, there is Salman Khan who doesn’t even take Aishwarya’s name without mentioning her surname (i.e. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and then there is Vivek Oberoi who is so shameless that he is not only sharing such a disrespectful meme but also dragging a minor into this. Shame on you.” “Extremely absurd of you to tweet this!! Disappointing,” wrote another.
Another user wrote, “You tweeting this pic is a sign that Aishwarya made a sensible decision.” “This is disgusting…She has a daughter now and is living a happily married life. A fan of Vivek Oberoi but this is disgusting,” another user commented. After many delays, the Modi biopic is finally set to release on May 24.
On Monday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari unveiled a new poster of PM Narendra Modi featuring the latest release date. The poster reads: “Aa rahe hain dobara PM Narendra Modi… Ab koi nahi rok sakta (PM Narendra Modi is coming again and this time no one can stop him)” and features Oberoi holding a conch shell with his head held high.
