Actor Rishi Kapoor today took to Twitter to troll former LK Advani aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was present at the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in China, which concluded on Monday. Notably, Kulkarni was among the handful of Indians, who attended the meet in Beijing. Kulkarni, chairperson of the Mumbai-based Observer Research Foundation, had criticised India’s decision not to participate at the forum,China’s grand show of economic might and growing strategic heft, following sovereignty concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Indian government had decided to boycott the meet to which Kulkarni said: “Whosoever has advised the PM, has given a very, very bad advice.” Kulkarni’s argument is: “India has isolated itself by boycotting Belt and Road Forum. We should’ve aired our concerns by attending it.”. This comment, left Kapoor fuming and in his typical style fired a tweet at him.
Kapoor wrote from his Twitter handle: “Sudheendra Kulkarni! Not Ink but all Paint manufactures await you arrival from Beijing. Await your arrival!.”
Sudheendra Kulkarni! Not Ink but all Paint manufactures await you arrival from Beijing. Await your arrival! pic.twitter.com/gRjN9PwA1q
— Rishi Kapoor (@chintskap) May 15, 2017
Rishi Kapo0r’s tweet has left a lot of people baffled! Including us. Of course he has his right to express his opinion on any issue. But we are a little surprised as to what prompted the actor to tweet like this. Generally Bollywood people aren’t seen closely monitoring the current affairs, and even if they monitor, they are not seen launching ‘veiled threats’ on social media. Many saw it as endorsement of violence on Kapoor’s part.
@chintskap Responding to a private individual’s perfectly legal act with a physical threat is what happens in banana republics. Not done, @chintskap.
— Debayan Sen (@debayansen) May 15, 2017
@debayansen @chintskap Uncle seems to be brainwashed completely
— Bakwas Rider (@BakwasRadio) May 15, 2017
@DonLegally @gyan07007 @GitaSKapoor @chintskap He was mate. Still love his movies. But when he drinks a couple of bottles, this is how he behaves. Get well soon.
— #Cowमाता (@zeedai) May 15, 2017
Kap0or’s tweet was a warning for Sudheendra Kulkarni, as was a reminder of the 2015 incident, in which some Shiv Sena goons had attacked him. Even back then Kapoor had responded to the incident with a cryptic tweet. “Unpardonable”. one didn’t understand whether he was condemning the attack or Kulkarni’s decision to sit for a press conference with ink on his face.
He was assaulted and smeared with ink ahead of the launch of Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Relations authored by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. Following the shameful incident, the Shiv Sena had said that the ink attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni was a form of “peaceful protest” against Pakistan. Now it seems, that even the Bollywood actor seems to have the same opinion when it comes to ‘peaceful protest’.
The curious part is how Rishi Kapoor keeps serious tab on national and international news that minute details of a non-player like Kulkarni attending the meet also doesn’t escape his eyes. We tried googling Sudheendra Kulkarni and China to know, what kind of coverage his comments got. There was hardly any buzz around it. No mainstream newspaper has carried it. At least, Kulkarni’s statement was not featured in any headline. The only news story that search threw was that of Kapoor trolling Kulkarni. If not an actor, Kapoor could have easily been a journalist, given the kind of news hound he is. Clearly, Kapoor is disproportionately well informed in an industry where some people do not even get the President’s name correctly at the first go.
