Just before the COVID-19 lockdown hit India in 2020, actress Deepika Padukone starred in the film Chhapaak, in which she played the role of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Despite the actress being at the peak of her career, Chhapaak failed to perform at the box office, and one of the major reasons behind it was touted to be her visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi.
Just four days before the release of Chhapaak in theatres, Deepika had visited JNU and she was seen extending her support to those who were protesting against an attack that had happened on the students of the university. Her move did not go down well with right wing supporters and their dissent came to the fore when they called for boycotting Chhapaak.
More than three years after the fiasco, director Meghna Gulzar has finally opened up on the failure of Chhapaak and admitted that Deepika's visit to JNU did affect the film.
Stating that her visit resulted into a "dent" on the film, Meghna said, "Because the conversation went from acid violence, which I intended the film to amplify, to somewhere else. So, of course it impacted the film. There is no denying that."
In Chhapaak, Deepika essayed the role of Malti, and the character was based on real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal's story.
Deepika did not just act in Chhapaak, but it was also co-produced by her. The film also starred actor Vikrant Massey.
Meanwhile, Meghna is currently gearing up for the release of her ambitious project, Sam Bahadur, in which actor Vicky Kaushal will be seen playing the role of India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw. The film is set to release in theatres on December 1, clashing with Ranbir Kapoor's Animal.
Deepika, on the other hand, will be next seen in Fighter with Hrithik Roshan. She also has Kalki 2898 AD with Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan, and Brahmastra Part 2: Dev in her kitty.
