Shraddha Kapoor was only trying to ensure her dog had a peaceful Diwali when she unwittingly plunged headlong into the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court ban on the sale of crackers in Delhi.
In a 24-second video that she shared on social media recently, the Ok Jaanu, Half Girlfriend and Haseena Parkar girl urged people not to engage in bursting crackers this Diwali.
Seen with her dog in the video, the actress says: “Please don’t buy firecrackers and don’t burst crackers, because not only does it cause a lot of pollution, it also troubles all the animals in the streets.”
Instead of bursting crackers, she asked people to spend time with their families and loved ones. “Eat amazing food, eat sweets, but don’t burst crackers,” she says before signing off with: “Wish you a happy Diwali.”
Over the past few days, celebrities who have shown their support for a silent Diwali and supported the country’s top court’s decision have faced a lot of flak on social media Among those who supported the move is Juhi Chawla, who tweeted: “Brilliant move by Delhi supreme Court, firecrackers banned till November 1! Celebrate this Diwali with Diyas & love.”
Fashion designer Masaba Mantena expressed her happiness at the order with an emphatic “Yes!” on Twitter which Sonam Kapoor retweeted.
Cricketer Yuvraj Singh also tweeted, “Say no to crackers, let’s celebrate a pollution free Diwali #saynotocrackers #pollutionfree”, along with a video of him urging people to celebrate Diwali as a festival of lights and not one of sound.
Online trolls took little time to get to work. While some mentioned instances when the celebs in question have used crackers themselves, others tried giving a communal colour to the court’s ruling. But when you look at the facts, there is no ban on bursting of crackers in Delhi. It’s only on their sale.
-Published in The Telegraph on October 16, 2017