Amidst Demands For Bollywood To Break The Silence Around CAA Protests, Comedian Rohan Joshi Explains Why They Really Need To

As arguments and counter-arguments rage inside the country surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act, there are many who are encouraging more and more Bollywood celebrities to speak up about the matter and comedian Rohan Joshi happens to be one of them.

As Rohan made his demands known on social media, an Instagram user posted a pertinent question. She wrote, “Why are we so insistent on Bollywood’s comments on everything? Whatever they might or might not say will not change anyone else’s opinion. Also, they will be condemned if they say something opposite of what is obviously the correct thing, even though it might be their personal opinion. So why this expectation from a bunch of people? It’s a democracy everyone should have the right to want to or not want to express their opinion publicly, even if they are public figures. No one ever asks the cricketers for their comments on such events, why is that?”

While her question echoed the opinion of many Bollywood stars themselves, Rohan had a thought-provoking reply to her comment. He wrote, “because Bollywood demands that these same people love them, respect them, and essentially stand up for them. That is what you are doing when you buy a ticket to someone’s movie. They also spend their lives earning love and social capital by often playing Muslims and minorities and winning awards and adulation for their roles as those characters. So they have no issue appropriating their pain or the struggle that a minority goes through when it means they get a shining climax speech that makes them look good. But when the time comes to stand in real life for the people whose identities and stories they appropriate, they are silent. Or, sometimes, WITH the people who oppress these minorities. And that, my friend, is why we’re insistent on their comments. Not because we think they will be correct, but because if you want to take from people for your gain, have the spine to give back when they need you.”

However, instead of this becoming another social media pact, the woman who asked the comment actually conceded and said that Rohan actually made her see the point and thanked him for explaining the same.