Vishal Bhardwaj wows Twitterati with poem, others not amused

As Bollywood celebrities rally in support of those attacked on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in Delhi on Sunday, a video clip of film director Vishal Bhardwaj reading a poem at one such protest in the city has gone viral.

There were others who were not amused though.

'Masaan' Director Neeraj Ghaywan shared the clip on Twitter, earning praise for Bhardwaj from Twitterati.

Ghaywan wrote: "@VishalBhardwaj at the silent protest of solidarity at Carter Road, Mumbai, against the #JNUattack."

It got 7K retweets and 19.7K likes.

Over 200 people, including filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Sudhir Mishra, Zoya Akhtar, Anubhav Sinha and Ghaywan, actors Tapasee Pannu, Rahul Bose and Dia Mirza rallied on Carter Road in Bandra on Monday evening to condemn the violence.

Swara Bhaskar, Ali Fazal, Saurabh Shukla, Richa Chadha and Swanand Kirkare were among those who used poetry and music to show solidarity with the JNU students.

"Hats Off to Vishal Bhardwaj sir. There are great men who love their country and Constitution more than money. I salute you sir and others who are standing with you and raising voice against injustice and cruelty which crossed all limits," wrote one fan.

One post read: "@VishalBhardwaj. The spines of Hindi film industry."

A fan tweeted: "I always find Vishal a man of conscience. Love," to which a Twitter user posted a counter-question: "Man of conscience? They are arm twisted and blackmailed from across the border by the ones who run and finance Bollywood."

"God, reading someone else's poem? No originality?" read a post.

Another said: "Thanks for putting out the original before the media cell puts out the doctored one."

( With inputs from IANS )