Bhumi Pednekar's ex-acting coach questions her schooling protesters: ‘You were disrespectful towards teachers’

Bhumi Pednekar's ex-acting coach has slammed the actor for questioning protestors behaviour.

Bhumi Pednekar received significant backlash recently after she shared a post calling out the foul language used by some of the protesters during the CJP-led NEET-UG 2026 protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, a post by Bhumi's former acting teacher, Shruti Desai, has been doing the rounds on social media, with Desai criticising the actor over her alleged rude behaviour during acting classes.

Bhumi Pednekar recently slammed protestors for using abusive language.

Bhumi's acting teacher slams her

In a post on social media, Shruti Desai recalled her brief association with Bhumi and questioned the actor's stance on the protesters' behaviour, claiming that Bhumi herself had not always been respectful in the past. She wrote, "@bhumisatishpednekkar I remember, I was, briefly, one of your teachers at a Mumbai-based film school. Unfortunately for me, I also remember how disrespectful, almost disdainful, you were about your teachers. Care to explain your new approach towards the concepts of respect and responsibility and how your world-view changed so drastically in the interim?"

What did Bhumi say?

Recently, Bhumi shared a video condemning the use of insulting language directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the protest. She said, "Looking at the videos surfacing now, the kind of language being used, and the way the youth of our country are speaking — the youth of our country... this isn't how we talk, man. We are talking about someone who holds the highest office in the land today. And it’s not just about the office; would we ever speak like this to the elders in our own homes? Can we really resort to using abusive language?”

She added, "Guys, this isn't our culture; it’s wrong, and this really bothered me — that’s why I wanted to come forward and address this: a country will only progress and move forward when, collectively and unitedly, we discuss our flaws as well as the good things. Our culture and value system form our backbone; we shouldn't stray from them, otherwise, we won't be able to communicate the right things in the right way, and they will never be implemented or lead to change."

The internet was not happy with Bhumi's remarks, with many questioning her stance as the actor had largely stayed silent during the CJP protest and had not publicly supported the students' cause. Many questioned her for staying silent on the Sansad March when students were beaten, lathis were charged at them and even pellet guns were used.

Did Bhumi do damage control?

Later, Bhumi shared another video in which she condemned those sending rape and death threats to female protesters. She said, "I saw a video on the Internet, in which a young girl who was part of the protest was giving an interview, and she looked visibly broken and shaken. Her one video had went viral, and since then she has been receiving rape and death threats, even her mother faced the same. This is unacceptable. We cannot bully a young girl. We cannot put fear psychosis in a young child’s mind just because we don’t agree with their opinion."

However, many users in the comments section felt that her second video came across as an attempt at damage control after she faced widespread criticism over her first video. Several social media users argued that while condemning threats was important, they believed the actor had initially failed to address the core concerns raised by the protesting students, which is why her follow-up post continued to draw mixed reactions online.