Vivek Agnihotri on JNU episode: Situation would have been different if Bollywood hadn't intervened

Deepika Padukone not only made a surprise appearance at the JNU campus on Tuesday but welcomed a slew of dissenting voices on her stance with the students. The onslaught and the actress' move compelled B-towners to express solidarity with her, but not everyone was convinced with her stand shown just a few days before her big release 'Chhapaak'.

One such personality who felt "disappointed" in Deepika was the 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam' director Vivek Agnihotri, who referred to the situation as "Catch-22". He opined that if "Bollywood people hadn't been there, the situation wouldn't have been like this."

"It's very common in India that two groups of students quarrel and fight with each other and get violent. I don't know why Bollywood is protesting against. Actors hardly have any credibility in people's mind," the director told International Business Times, India.

Deepika's JNU visit

The JNU incident garnered even more media light when Deepika paid an unplanned visit to which Vivek added that "her standing with the students is totally her prerogative and her birthright and she is free to do that."

Maintaining that he holds deep respect for the actress' craft, social behaviour and the way of conducting herself, Vivek shared, "I feel empathy for 99 per cent of students who are working hard, going to coachings and sleeping for just 2-3 hours. I feel hugely disappointed in Deepika that she went and stood with only 0.1 per cent students who have FIRs against them, who have been known for raising slogans in praise of Afzal Guru, the terrorist."

Moreover, the recent attack on the protesting students also raised questions on the police's functionality on which the director said, "If police enters the campus, students create chaos, if they don't, its media and activists who create chaos. In all this, the police get stuck."

Proposing that it is not the police to be blamed, Vivek addressed the matter as an "ego issue" which has received "unnecessary media hype."

"I feel the local administration of JNU and student politics governed and controlled by the urban Naxals and communist leaders with other political party leaders are responsible for this," the 46-year old said.

Moreover, the quadragenarian who himself is an alumnus of JNU believes that the government is nowhere to be blamed. "I have studied there and there was no pressure on the students. They used to waste their time in drinking, smoking and goondagardi. And that's become the culture of JNU."