Overview

• In a June 17 interview with Shubhankar Mishra, Agnihotri claimed Padukone had no grasp of JNU politics when she joined a student protest days before Chhapaak’s release.
• He argued that her PR team advised the appearance as a promotional event rather than a politically charged act.
• Agnihotri described Padukone as intelligent and said she would have skipped the campus visit had she understood its career risks.
• Director Meghna Gulzar previously linked the JNU appearance to Chhapaak’s muted box office returns and a shift in public focus away from the film’s acid attack narrative.
• The comments have reignited discussion over Bollywood celebrities’ engagement in political causes and the influence of PR strategies on such decisions.