Salman Khan was among the first Bollywood stars to react to the CJP-led protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.
Hours before Wangchuk eventually ended his fast, Salman posted on social media, “Sonam, it’s done bro.
“I call them ‘Generation Gutter’.”‘Celebrities need Gen Z, not the other way around’Summing up her argument, De said Bollywood has failed to understand how Gen Z engages with politics and public life.
“The thing to understand is this: Gen Z does not need celebrity endorsements or heroes.
Led by the Cockroach Janta Party and supported by activist Sonam Wangchuk, the agitation included marches, sit-ins and Wangchuk’s 26-day hunger strike.
Author and columnist Shobhaa De has criticised Bollywood’s response to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests, arguing that the industry’s biggest stars appeared out of touch with Gen Z and misread the mood of a youth-led movement that has dominated national discourse for weeks.
In her latest column for ThePrint, De took aim at Salman Khan’s social media post to activist Sonam Wangchuk, described Bollywood’s response as “uncool” and “irrelevant”, and criticised actors including Kangana Ranaut, Hema Malini and Anupam Kher for their comments on the protests.
Salman Khan was among the first Bollywood stars to react to the CJP-led protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. After backing the students’ demand for accountability and education reforms, the actor made another appeal the following day, urging Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured action against those responsible for the alleged leak.
Hours before Wangchuk eventually ended his fast, Salman posted on social media, “Sonam, it’s done bro. Don’t extend this. Keep the spirit for another day if there is a need, which I doubt, and eat something. If u want, I will send u food from home. Students please go back to your homes and to your parents. The PM has said whoever has done wrong will be punished…”
Reacting to the post, De wrote, “Ditto with Salman Khan. Calling Sonam Wangchuk ‘Bro’ and offering him a home-cooked meal from the Khan kitchen to break his fast attracted widespread derision, not praise.”
She argued that the actor’s attempt to connect with young people had the opposite effect.
“Maybe Salman thought he was being ‘cool’. But Gen Z rewrote the definition of ‘cool’. And this cringe message was anything but.”
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‘Bollywood has never looked this uncool’
De said Salman wasn’t the only celebrity who appeared disconnected from young Indians. “Bollywood has never looked this ‘uncool’. This irrelevant.”
According to her, several film stars joined the conversation only after they believed it was politically safe to do so.
“Especially those stars who jumped in with inane ChatGPT-scripted posts once they had apparently received the green signal from their political patrons.”
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She added that the response failed to resonate with the audience they rely on the most.
“The very stars whose box-office fortunes depend on Young India suddenly woke up, only to be met with mockery.”
De also wrote that veteran actors Hema Malini and Anupam Kher had “added insult to injury” with their comments on the protests.
Shobhaa De criticises Kangana Ranaut’s remarks
Kangana Ranaut also came under fire in De’s column. During the CJP protests, the actor-politician shared a series of Instagram Stories targeting the demonstrators.
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In one of her earlier posts, Kangana wrote that the protest videos were “puke-inducing”, adding that she had “never in my life seen so much ugliness in one place”. She criticised the protesters’ language and behaviour, writing that they “call yourself cockroaches and look/behave like them as well”, and described them as “filth, garbage, and ugliness.”
In her latest Instagram story, Kangana said young women wanted to imitate the lives of “independent career women” without earning that freedom. She argued that truly independent women take responsibility for their choices instead of relying on their families.
She went on to describe what she called a new generation of “westernised Indian women”, writing, “I call them Generation Gutter.” Kangana claimed that many of them were “not good at studies”, could not become homemakers either, and instead “proudly flaunt their freedom to have drugs, drinks, or endless body counts” while living off their parents’ earnings.
Reacting to those remarks, De wrote, “While Kangana Ranaut—just this side of ‘Aunty’ status—lost the few Gen Z fans she still possessed with her tasteless remarks.”
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She then turned Kangana’s own phrase back on her. “I call them ‘Generation Gutter’.”
‘Celebrities need Gen Z, not the other way around’
Summing up her argument, De said Bollywood has failed to understand how Gen Z engages with politics and public life.
“The thing to understand is this: Gen Z does not need celebrity endorsements or heroes. It’s the reverse. Celebrities need Gen Z.”
Explaining why, she concluded, “This is a generation that marches, sings and dances to its own unique beat.”
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The CJP protests began over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak but soon grew into a nationwide youth-led movement demanding accountability, education reforms and the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Led by the Cockroach Janta Party and supported by activist Sonam Wangchuk, the agitation included marches, sit-ins and Wangchuk’s 26-day hunger strike. Days after Wangchuk ended his fast, Pradhan resigned on moral grounds, though CJP leaders have said their campaign for broader education reforms will continue.
