Swara Bhasker and Zeeshan Ayyub – who essayed the roles of Bindiya and Murari in Raanjhanaa – recently used a reference from the movie to make a statement on the ongoing CAA protests across the country especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
For the uninitiated, Raanjhanaa is based in Varanasi and is a one-sided love story that explores many topics, including the Hindu-Muslim relationships.
Swara and Zeeshan both played the friends of the lead character Kundan (played by Dhanush), and they held a placard that read:
Hum Bindiya Benarasi, hum Murari Nenarasi. Hum Zoya-Kundan ko khoj rahe hai, jo UP se pyaar mein nahi, UP police ki maar kha kar gaayab hai.
Along with 7 others, the two actors also demanded judicial probe into the matter in a joint press conference, where Swara said:
Uttar Pradesh police bohot barbarta se, na sirf jo hinsak virodhi log – jo humein pata nahin kaun the- par aam musalmanon pe bhi hinsa barsa rahe hain.
Which translates to, “UP Police is not just being violent towards people instigating violence, the identity of whom we don’t know, but also towards the common Muslim people”.