Two days after a group called Karni Sena physically manhandled Bollywood Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali over alleged distortion of history of Rajput queen Padmawati, actor Sushant Singh Rajput decided to protest this act in a unique way.
He decided to drop his surname “Rajput” (and “Singh” too) from his name for a day. He did it by editing the display name of Twitter, which is back to his old name (with “Singh Rajput” included) this morning. He claimed that he did it so to send a message that group like Karni Sena don’t represent all Rajputs.
While some, especially in the mainstream media and the actor’s fans, thought it was an awesome move, others questioned the logic behind the act. The act of dropping a surname is closer to disowning one’s identity than protecting that identity from being hijacked, as Sushant (Singh Rajput) had claimed.
And it attracted a wide range of comments on Twitter:
Bollywood should make up its mind. Does a name matter (when it’s Rajput) or it doesn’t matter (when it’s Taimur)?
@itsSSR एक सुशांत सिंह है कि दो थप्पड़ की वजह से अपने नाम से ‘राजपूत’ हटा रहा है और एक सैफ है कि लाखों कत्ल के बाद भी ‘तैमूर’ रख रहा है
— Som Shukla (@Shuklasom789Som) January 29, 2017
Bollywood’s peculiar kind of virtue signaling?
“My Name is Khan, and I’m not a terrorist”
“My name is Rajput, and I’m ashamed”#BollywoodActivism— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) January 29, 2017
Perhaps such a statement is better fit if one claims that a fringe doesn’t represent the community?
Proud to be a Hindu Rajput. Unfortunate that some ppl had to take law in their hands to stop Bhansali from insulting our history & pride
— Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) January 29, 2017
One guy was so upset, he recorded a video message for Sushant (Singh Rajput):
@itsSSR I m also rajput & ashamed that who has given surname.
Don’t remove surname for one day, remove it forever.
Don’t need cowards like u pic.twitter.com/hf9nPiQuKE— Manoj Singh (@iManojSingh) January 29, 2017
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And when it comes to Twitter, how can some fun and sarcasm be behind?
Me: I will drop my surname.
Dad: Bahot ehsaan hoga tera humare khandaan pe _/\_— PhD in Bak*****!! (@Atheist_Krishna) January 29, 2017
Nobody outraged when ashamed of Jawahar Lal’s deeds, Indira dropped Nehru from her surname.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) January 29, 2017
The man who has no identity without his surname. pic.twitter.com/P9JpV4TDNt
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) January 30, 2017
.@itsSSR bro, after your this stupid statement I am going to remove my brain for a day to say that ‘you’ don’t represent the entire humanity
— Maithun – TNP (@Being_Humor) January 29, 2017
Feeling so ashamed of myself that I did not drop my surname even after Ram Gopal Varma made RGV ki Aag ???
— Monica Verma (@TrulyMonica) January 30, 2017
kal agar Sushant Singh Rajput ko cheenti kaat le to apne naam se ‘ant’ hata lega ? ??
— Maithun – TNP (@Being_Humor) January 30, 2017
If Dhoni doesn’t play well, Sushant Singh Rajput will drop Dhoni from the film title, MS Dhoni – The untold story. ?
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) January 30, 2017
And in a novel way of protesting to match Sushant Singh Rajput’s style, some decided to add “Rajput” to their names:
Diyar @itsSSR I’m ‘Rajput’ for a Day.
Shame on you— mamta “Rajput” (@mamtan14) January 29, 2017
I have added Rajput to my name 🙂
— Ashish Tikoo Rajput (@ashishtikoo31) January 29, 2017
Sushant Singh Rajput called everyone criticising his move as “paid troll” after such responses went viral.
