India’s Gen Z have flipped the icky cockroach into a symbol of defiance, and nobody is being spared – neither netas, nor Bollywood celebrities. Armed with wit, humour and rib-tickling memes, Gen Z have called out the double standards of several B-town fence-sitters, who suddenly started chirping like a canary before and after PM Narendra Modi’s late-night message, telling the students that his government would set up fast-track courts and stricter punishment for those involved in paper leaks. The PM put a message on social media: “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!” But Abhijeet Dipke, founder of CJP’s riposte, to PM’s message with an image of Dharmendra Pradhan captioned: “Hi, my name is Nothing,” set the call-out crawl rolling.
But, before dawn, the young cockroaches had already upped their ante and crawled all over social media, calling out stars and politicians for their primary concern – brand value. Salman Khan’s long tweet to the CJP leaders, “Sonam, It’s Done, Bro” and asking Sonam Wangchuk to end his fast and urging the students to go back home, was met with a quick witty reply by another Gen Z user saying: “It’s too late, Bro.”
Another X user wrote: “My God, suddenly all of Bollywood has decided to take token points today. Stop. You’re embarrassing yourself. We can manage without your second-hand support.”
Power Of Words
The message was clear: Gen Z will hit where it hurts most — the carefully cultivated image that drives endorsements, fan loyalty and, ultimately, box office pull.
Fan accounts dedicated to popular celebrities were shut down, social media unfollows surged, and memes, reels and posts began chipping away at the aspirational aura that brands pay a premium to associate with. A generation — in this case Gen Z — often criticised for being social media-obsessed and entitled may have just exposed a new vulnerability for India’s biggest stars: brand value.
As young Indians came together demanding accountability over the NEET leaks and reforms in the education system, they weren’t just questioning policymakers but also celebrities, from actors to sporting icons, for their loud silence.
Even though Sonakshi Sinha, Shabana Azmi, Huma Qureshi, Soha Ali Khan, Dia Mirza and Jim Sarbh spoke up, the rest remained conspicuous by their silence. Aaliya Shah, a Social Media manager, says, “People like Sonakshi Sinha, Shabana Azmi spoke about it because they believed in the cause and wanted to stand up for what was right. For the rest, my question is: why now? Only after someone in power finally broke his silence? It felt like dominoes falling one by one, as if everyone had been waiting with their statements ready.”
Stars-struck By Fans
On July 23, hours before PM Modi’s address to students, Bollywood stars including Salman Khan and Alia Bhatt finally posted. Followed by Ananya Panday and Sara Ali Khan, who joined the chorus. But many young Indians dismissed the posts as tokenism. Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia, actor and model, called out the double standards of Bollywood, saying: “It’s so funny, guys.
Our PM tweets something after which our so-called celebrities decide to put out posts.”
Chaitanya Shrivastava, Marketing and Publicity, Bloomsbury, says, “I don’t think all of us and Gen Z expect every celebrity, cricketer or influencer to comment on every political issue. That’s unrealistic. What we do expect is basic sense of empathy when something affects millions of ordinary people, the very people who give these celebrities the pedestal they stand on. The contrast between staying silent on issues that affect people’s lives while readily participating in brand campaigns or government-led initiatives doesn’t go unnoticed. Gen Z aren’t dumb.”
Coming Attraction
Hours before Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana trailer launch at San Diego, producer Namit Malhotra said on social media that the trailer will now be released globally at a later date. “In light of the above, we will be launching our trailer globally at a later date.”
Chaitanya adds, “Celebrities have spent years building intimate, almost personal relationships with audiences through social media. They’ve asked us to invest not just in their work, but in their lives, opinions and personalities. So when they choose silence during moments that feel significant, that silence itself becomes part of the conversation.”
Actor and comedian Anu Menon feels everyone has their reasons for speaking up or staying silent. “Will silence on national issues make actors or sports stars any less iconic in India? We’ll find out when the next blockbuster releases or the next big tournament begins. Only time will tell.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
