Celebs react to Sonam Wangchuk’s appeal to boycott ‘Made in China’ products, including the TikTok app

Milind Soman, Arshad Warsi, Ranvir Shorey and Archana Puran Singh have come out in his support

When Ladakh-based engineer Sonam Wangchuk, who was the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character in the 2009 film 3 Idiots, posted a video urging people to boycott TikTok and other Chinese products, little did he know it would gain momentum in such a short period of time.

Engineer Sonam Wangchuk posted a video urging people to boycott TikTok and other Chinese products

Lending support to Wangchuk was actor Milind Soman, who tweeted that he is no longer on TikTok. Actors Arshad Warsi and Ranvir Shorey, too, came out in support of the campaign.

Inspired by Wangchuk, actor Archana Puran Singh, an avid TikTok user, deleted her account and the app.

“I am very emotional and patriotic. Not all of us can do the right thing all the time, but when somebody like him touches a chord, he evokes that sense of questioning within us, and then if we don’t hear that voice, that would be unforgivable. I have taken a vow, hat as far as possible to follow what he said ‘softwares within a week, hardwares within a year’,” says Singh.

Some celebs, however, feel boycotting TikTok alone will not solve the purpose. Actor Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya says, “There are many other things, look at your own mobile phone and various appliances we use at our home. Why not try for everything swadesi? Our people in general should start appreciating Made in India goods, especially the things that traditional artisans make. Jab hamare swadesi ko appreciate karenge, there will be more opportunities for cottage industries. Aatm nirbhar bano, it has a deep meaning to it. One app won’t make you that, we will have to produce things accordingly, including technology.”

Echoing similar views is actor Mahhi Vij, with more than a million followers on the app. She tells us, “The first step the government will have to take, if they deactivate it, we will not use it. TikTok is not making any difference to anybody, let me tell you. We still have things coming from China, I have toys which have the Made in China label. How many things will you stop? Boycotting will take some time. But at the same time, a lot of people are against the app and some have been telling me to go off it. Going off it doesn’t make the world a better place. If government takes serious action, then we won’t use it.”

With around 1.5 million followers Karishma Tanna looks at the app as only a source of entertainment. “According to me, it is keeping me entertained, I don’t care what people say. My profile, my rules. If I feel, I will do it,” she says.

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