‘The whole of India is silent’ — Saheefa Jabbar Khattak slams Bollywood’s silence on Palestine – Culture

As people continue to block and criticize Hollywood celebrities for not raising their voices on the plight of Palestinians, actor Saheefa Jabbar Khattak wondered what everyone was doing towards Bollywood celebrities then that they remained silent about Israeli aggression in Gaza.

“What do we do about Bollywood?” Our neighboring country, where we look forward to working and where we speak so highly of them in our interviews, NONE of them have spoken out against the ongoing genocide,” Khattak pointed out in an Instagram story.

THE Rafta Rafta The actor urged people to stop praising Bollywood celebrities and wishing them on their birthdays, adding that the Indian government had banned Pakistani artists from working “for them”. She added that Pakistanis were rarely offered good roles in Bollywood and that during “this genocide, the whole of India is silent.”

“It’s time we focus on our craft, make better films and dramas, and stop seeking validation from them or anyone.”

Khattak’s statement comes after Gaza’s health ministry announced that nearly 36,000 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli offensive. Despite deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip, including an Israeli airstrike that sparked a massive fire killing 45 people in a Rafah tent camp, Bollywood bigwigs have remained largely silent.

The list of those who have spoken is rather short. In October 2023, actress Sonam Kapoor was one of the first Bollywood celebrities to share pro-Palestinian content on her Instagram story.

Shortly after, Priyanka Chopra, ambassador for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), also published an article on the impact of Israeli aggression on children.

Tanu marries Manu Actor Swara Bhaskar also posted in 2023, saying, “Boming kids are not self defense. Stop the genocide” and urged people to stand up and speak out for Palestine.

Emerging Indian actor Reem Sameer Shaikh also posted an image of the Palestinian flag, captioned ‘Save Palestine’.

Unfortunately, that’s where the list ends. Few other prominent names in Bollywood have published an article even hinting at the brutalities Palestinians continue to face.

At the same time, Khattak also called for a boycott of Zionist brands and encouraged people to boycott as many products as possible.

“Don’t make the whole list if you find it difficult, but you and I will not die if we do not consume McDonald’s or Coca-Cola,” she said, adding that images from Palestine showed the Israeli army eating McDonald’s and leaving their paper bags in Rafah.