Bollywood’s resident bad girl vs. Bad Gal RiRi.
By Ashima Sethi
Global pop sensation Rihanna has become Kangana Ranaut‘s latest online rival. Yesterday, the “Umbrella” singer used her Twitter platform to call to attention what’s happening to farmers in India, extending her support to those protesting against new agricultural laws introduced by the government late last year.
She shared a link to an article by CNN that describes how on the 26th of January, protestors entered Delhi and clashed with the police across the capital city. The news outlet also discussed how the internet has now been shut down in several districts across Haryana in a bid to quell the demonstrations. Posting the link, she wrote: “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest“
Her call to attention did not sit well with Kangana Ranaut. Known for her outspoken opinions on every issue imaginable, the Bollywood actress, who has openly supported farm laws, replied with: “No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA… Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies.”
The actress is a firm supporter of PM Narendra Modi‘s BJP, and has been vocal of her dislike of the ongoing protests that have challenged the PM’s newly enacted farm laws: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. . Farmers are protesting because they believe the new rules will leave them vulnerable to large agricultural corporations.
This is not the first time Kangana has come under fire for her opinions on Twitter. Recently, she faced heavy criticism after she claimed it was “time to take [the] heads off” the producers of the web series Tandav (2021) starring Saif Ali Khan because of scenes that allegedly insult Hindu deities and hurt Hindu sentiments.
She also got into a row with singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh, who responded to her accusations of him fuelling the farmers protests with the suggestion that if she was so obsessed with him, she should consider a job as his PR person. Diljit also reiterated that his allegiances will always remain with the state of Punjab: “You live with such misconceptions about yourself, don’t think Punjabis have forgotten what you’ve done. We will have our answer for you soon.”
With so many online rivals, we can’t help but wonder how Kangana has time for anything else.
