Meghna Gulzar blames Deepika Padukone for ‘Chhapaak’ flop, says – her going to JNU affected the film
Meghna Gulzar blames Deepika Padukone for ‘Chhapaak’ flop,
In 2020, “Chhapaak” hit the screens, narrating the inspiring tale of Lakshmi Aggarwal, a survivor of an acid attack. Stepping into the lead role was Deepika Padukone, under the direction of Meghna Gulzar. Despite the film’s poignant storyline, it didn’t quite hit the jackpot at the box office, raking in only Rs 35 crore in its entire run. The period leading up to the film’s release was surrounded by quite a bit of controversy, particularly revolving around Deepika.
Meghna Gulzar is making headlines these days, all thanks to her upcoming film “Sam Bahadur,” set to hit theatres soon. Amidst the hustle of promoting the film, she recently sat down for an interview, where she shared insights not just about “Sam Bahadur,” but also delved into discussions about her previous work, “Chhapaak,” and touched on the controversy surrounding Deepika Padukone’s involvement with JNU.
Meghna Gulzar said that due to the controversy regarding Deepika Padukone’s JNU visit, the business of Chhapaak was also affected.
Chhapaak’s business had deteriorated
Chhapaak came in the year 2020. In which the story of acid attack survivor Lakshmi Aggarwal was shown. Deepika Padukone played the lead role in the film. Whereas, Meghna Gulzar had directed it. The film missed doing good business at the box office. Chhapaak had done a lifetime business of only Rs 35 crore.
What did Meghna Gulzar say?
After years, Meghna Gulzar has now said about Chhapaak that Deepika Padukone’s JNU visit had influenced her film. When asked about the impact of Deepika’s JNU controversy on Chhapaak, Meghna Gulzar said, “I am sure the answer is very clear. Yes, this controversy clearly affected the film, because the film was launched with the discussion of acid attacks. It was supposed to be taken forward, as I had planned, but things went somewhere else, so it definitely affected the film. That can’t be denied.”
What was JNU controversy?
Deepika Padukone had reached JNU campus to support the students. Some JNU students were beaten up by supporters of CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). The actress had reached JNU before the release of Chhapaak to support these students. There was a lot of controversy on his visit. A few days before the release of the film, demands to boycott Chhapaak started rising on Twitter.