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'If someone is...': What Smriti Irani said on Bollywood's 'silence' on Operation Sindoor
In a TV interview, politician and actor Smriti Irani was asked about chatter around Bollywood's ‘muffled’ response to Operation Sindoor.
Former Union Minister Smriti Irani has advised people to "not watch" actors if they are offended at their "lack of support" to Operation Sindoor, India's military operation against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and POK, launched on May 7.
In a TV interview, the politician was asked about chatter around Bollywood's muffled response to the operation that India launched a fortnight after 26 civilians were killed in a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
“If someone is not with the country, and their lack of support offends you, then don’t watch them,” she was quoted as saying by an India Today report.
“How can you express your anger (against their silence) as an ordinary citizen? By tunning off," the publication further quoted Irani.
The former MP also asserted that if an actor did not support the Army, it did not mean that no one else did. She said the entire country stood with its forces.
She also said that India no longer waits for an actor to break silence on an issue and say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. "The country has been made aware of these realities," she asserted.
Her interview came ahead of her return to television screens again after years in the reboot of popular show 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', in which she will be playing the character of Tulsi Virani.
Smriti Irani's remarks came over two months after India and Pakistan got engaged in a military conflict, triggered by Pakistan's targeting of air bases in India.
The Indian armed forces said that Pakistan incurred heavy losses, with significant damage to its military infrastructure, including land and air assets.
While some actors did heap praise on Operation Sindoor, there was chatter online that Bollywood remained largely silent on the issue, or gave a delayed reaction.
