Rhiya Ahir, who stopped police van during protest, breaks silence on backlash for her potential Bigg Boss 20 entry

Rhiya Ahir went viral for stopping a police van during the NEET protests. She is now eyeing a place in the Salman Khan-hosted reality show.

Rhiya Ahir could join Bigg Boss? A new promo for Bigg Boss 20 shows Salman Khan bringing back the ‘Fans Ka Faisla’ concept, similar to the one introduced in Bigg Boss 19. has given viewers a ‘vardaan’ to choose between Rhiya Ahir and Love Gill. The contestant who receives the most votes will secure a spot in the Bigg Boss house. Rhiya took to Instagram to share that ever since the promo came out, she has received both love as well as a lot of hate from people who said that she joined protest just for fame.

What Rhiya said

Rhiya Ahir, the model who blocked a Mumbai Police van during a protest recently, has shared her response to the backlash. (Instagram/@rhiyaahir)

In response, Rhiya shared a comment that was made by a fan under her previous reel, which was also in response to the backlash she received. It read, "She is not an activist—that is not her profession or her job. She participated in one protest, it went viral, and suddenly people started expecting activism from her as if that’s her career. It isn’t. She is an actor, model and entrepreneur by profession.

And if she got the opportunity to participate in one of India’s biggest reality shows, why on earth would she give that up? She has a career to build and her own bread and butter to earn.

So please stop latching onto her and expecting her to carry every cause forward just because she once chose to raise her voice. If activism is something you feel so strongly about, then go to the protests, participate and do the work yourself instead of depending on someone else to do it for you.

Rhiya said that this comment best summarised her stance, because she is keen to do what is right but she is also an actor who will use this opportunity if it comes her way. Rhiya also said that she has not earned a single penny from the protest video that went viral. Rhiya went on to add that she has done theatre for 13 years and is an artist who also has to earn her bread and butter from her profession.

All about Rhiya Ahir

Rhiya Ahir is a 27-year-old model who found herself at the centre of a protest after intervening when she saw protesters being taken away by the police. She recently went viral on social media after standing with her arms spread out to block a police van during protests in Mumbai in support of the Cockroach Janta Party's agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak.

She has a strong presence on Instagram, with 324K followers, and has also appeared in several music videos. Her most recent appearance was in the song Dilbara. Ahir is also an entrepreneur and founded Rhiyasat, a luxury handcrafted apparel label that works with Indian artisans and promotes locally crafted clothing.