At an event in Kolkata on Sunday evening, Kareena Kapoor Khan was asked about the #BoycottBollywood trend that gets particularly virulent before the release of big-ticket movies. Talking about it, Kareena said that she did not support this at all. “I don’t agree with it at all because how could the actors entertain the audience then? How would the joy and happiness in life survive if films are boycotted?” she said.

Sharing her thoughts on the role of cinema in our lives, she added, “I think everybody needs joy and happiness in life that’s promised by our films. Our actors and films have always provided entertainment. If there are no films, how would people be entertained?”

This is not the first time Kareena has commented on the issue, which was also one of the highlights of the recent meeting between UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and prominent members of the entertainment industry in Mumbai. Last year when Laal Singh Chaddha bore the brunt of the boycott campaign on social media, Kareena had expressed how she did not take these trends “seriously”.

 

Speaking at a conclave back then, she had said, “Everyone has an opinion, so you have to learn to ignore certain things. Otherwise, it will just become impossible to live your life. If a film is good, then the response will be good, and it will surpass anything.”

At the recent event, Kareena did not shy away from responding to this issue again. It gains significance at a time when Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s upcoming release has been targeted by the boycott Bollywood trend online and multiplexes vandalized, even as chief ministers of various states have promised to extend their support to the film by ensuring peaceful screenings at the theatres.