Meghna Gulzar admits Deepika Padukone's JNU visit impacted Chhapaak's box office performance

Chhapaak, the Meghna Gulzar directorial starring Deepika Padukone, was released in 2020 and is based on the life of Laxmi Agarwal, an acid assault survivor and advocate for the rights of acid attack victims. Despite such tremendous support and the great reception the trailer and the story received, the film performed poorly at the box office. Now, during an interview at Express Adda, Meghna broke her silence on the debacle of the Chhapaak and revealed that Deepika's controversial visit to JNU barely three days before the film's premiere influenced its reception.

Impact of Deepika Padukone's JNU visit on Chhapaak

The filmmaker stated that she is sure the answer is pretty obvious. Of course, the incident had an impact on the film because the topic shifted away from acid violence, which she meant the film to emphasise. As a result, it had an effect on the film, and there's no doubt about that.

For the uninitiated, Deepika's attendance in a protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 7, 2020, three days before the release of Chhapaak, in response to the 2020 JNU attack and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, generated outrage on social media. On X (formerly known as Twitter), the hashtags #BoycottChhapaak and #BlockDeepika trended.

ALSO READ: Deepika Padukone at her finest: From Cocktail to Padmaavat

Deepika Padukone made her production debut with Chhapaak as a co-producer alongside Fox Star Studios, Govind Singh Sandhu, and Meghna Gulzar. Despite a budget of Rs 50 crore, the film grossed only Rs 55.44 crore at the box office.

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Transition to Meghna Gulzar's upcoming film

Meanwhile, talking about Meghna's upcoming film, Vicky Kaushal plays Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in Sam Bahadur. The film depicts Manekshaw's key role in India's triumph in the 1971 war, which resulted in the formation of Bangladesh. The story emphasises Manekshaw's leadership and the hurdles he overcame.

Sam Bahadur will be released in theatres on December 1.

ALSO READ: From Besharam Rang to the Bollywood drugs scandal and Padmavaat: The many times Deepika Padukone courted controversy