India is under lockdown to control the spread of the deadly COVID-19, Bollywood is finding it very difficult to adjust. These days, all stars are back to being ordinary Indians and there is no fame or propitiation feed supplies. All shoots are off and poor starlets and stars are trying their best to stay connected to their fans while their whole world has come to a standstill. Some are posting photos of getting ready to ‘go out’to sit in their living rooms while some others are adapting their daily chores to music and dance to take and post photos for their fans. Remember – any publicity is rare these days and thus very valuable. And delivering a typical example of Bollywood blues, suddenly there appears a picture of Sonakshi Sinha posted by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri sharing a news report carrying a picture of her stepping out of a studio in Mumbai. Agnihotri slammed Sonakshi with caption “Who shoots in such times?”
This was the trigger to set the shotgun junior blazing and a Twitter war broke. Tweeting Sonakshi clarified that the photograph was taken last year, when she shot for Farah Khan’s chat show, Backbenchers. She also told Vivek that being from the industry, he should know better than to level such allegations against her.
“Being a Director and member of many unions and film bodies one would expect you to be better informed that Absolutely NO one is shooting since studios are shut and its a national lockdown! I believe Classic freeze frame means throwback in @MumbaiMirror terms, clearly meaning its an old picture, from 5th Nov 2019 to be precise! Aaah… those were the days!” she wrote.
And she added:
Sonakshi Sinha
✔@sonakshisinha
Being a Director and member of many unions and film bodies one would expect you to be better informed that Absolutely NO one is shooting since studios are shut and its a national lockdown! I believe Classic freeze frame means throwback in @MumbaiMirror terms,clearly meaning its an old picture, from 5th Nov 2019 to be precise! Aaah… those were the days!
An angry Sonakshi also tagged the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Twitter handles and asked how she could stop people from spreading baseless rumours. “Excuse me @MumbaiPolice, @OfficeofUT what is the procedure to stop people from spreading rumors and fake news at a time like this? Asking for a responsible citizen, sitting at home, practicing social distancing and NOT shooting – ME,” she wrote.
Sonakshi Sinha
✔@sonakshisinha
Excuse me @MumbaiPolice , @OfficeofUT what is the procedure to stop people from spreading rumors and fake news at a time like this? Asking for a responsible citizen, sitting at home, practicing social distancing and NOT shooting – ME
Vivek replied to Sonakshi’s tweet and said that he was not levelling allegations against her but condemning the tabloid for “insensitive journalism”. He wrote, “The dig is at @MumbaiMirror not you. If I have to say something to you, I’d tag you. It’s very insensitive to print such pictures in a trying time like this giving wrong impression. As a star you should also very strongly condemn this kind of yellow and insensitive journalism.”
This did not pacify irate Sonakshi. Infuriated Sonakshi retorted, “U haven’t tagged who ur taking a dig at,nor did u mention source of the picture.Nor hv u replied or clarified to anyone attacking me after ur statement.Rule no.1 of taking a dig – dont post someone else’s picture 2 take a dig at someone else,be specific.Thank u & goodbye.” She also signalled that she was done with the topic, as she tweeted, “Chalo aaj ke liye kaafi entertainment ho gaya, heres wishing everyone a very happy Baisakhi (from home)! #stayhomestaysafe.”
Sonakshi Sinha
✔@sonakshisinha
U haven’t tagged who ur taking a dig at,nor did u mention source of the picture.Nor hv u replied or clarified to anyone attacking me after ur statement.Rule no.1 of taking a dig – dont post someone else’s picture 2 take a dig at someone else,be specific.Thank u & goodbye https://twitter.com/vivekagnihotri/status/1249623333236137985 …
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
✔@vivekagnihotri
Replying to @sonakshisinha @MumbaiMirror
The dig is at @MumbaiMirror not you. If I have to say something to you, I’d tag you. It’s very insensitive to print such pictures in a trying time like this giving wrong impression.
As a star you should also very strongly condemn this kind of yellow and insensitive journalism.
Vivek, however, did not give up. He tweeted again, “Procedure is simple dear @sonakshisinha ask your PR company to instruct @MumbaiMirror not to publish your photo in their main page. Simple. And @MumbaiPolice is busy saving lives, don’t over burden them with inane requests. Simple.”
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
✔@vivekagnihotri
Procedure is simple dear @sonakshisinha ask your PR company to instruct @MumbaiMirror not to publish your photo in their main page. Simple.
And @MumbaiPolice is busy saving lives, don’t over burden them with inane requests. Simple.
This is a typical case of a fight no one needs to have, but our stars will.