Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker took to her social media handle in the wee hours of Wednesday to take a dig at the reaction of the audience to Vicky Kaushal's latest release Chhaava, and compared it to the reaction of people to the Maha Kumbh stampede incident that happened on January 29 in Prayagraj.
Without taking names, Swara wrote on X, "A society that is more enraged at the heavily embellished partly fictionalised filmy torture of Hindus from 500 years ago than they are at the horrendous death by stampede & mismanagement + then alleged JCB bulldozer handling of corpses - is a brain & soul-dead society. #IYKYK (sic)."
She was seemingly pointing at the videos and reactions of audience after watching Chhaava that have now gone viral on the internet. Several videos showed the audience crying and getting furious over how Mughal Emperor tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and eventually killed him, which is depicted in the climax of the film.
Swara's post on the microblogging site left the internet divided, and while some seemed to agree with her, others slammed and ridiculed her for comparing the two incidents. "100% yes! People love good drama not reality .. its seems everyone is running away from reality only to submerge in dramatic dramas of celluloid (sic)," an X user wrote.
"Highly fictionalised filmy torture? Aurangzeb's own biography bares out in graphic details the torture he meted out on Chhatrapati Sambhaji for refusing to convert to Islam (sic)," another X user countered.
As for the Maha Kumbh stampede, at least 30 people were killed and more than 60 devotees were injured at the chaotic stampede that took place in the wee hours of January 29 when lakhs of devotees gathered at the Sangam area in Prayagraj to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
In another incident, at least 18 people died in a stampede at New Delhi railway station on February 15 after there was a sudden surge of passengers waiting to board trains to Prayagraj for the final leg of Maha Kumbh Mela.
Speaking of Chhaava, the Vicky Kaushal-starrer has emerged to be a hit at the box office, and within just five days of its release, it has minted Rs 165 crore at the ticket windows.
