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‘This is outrageous’: Gabriella Demetriades hits back after Shobhaa De slams Arjun Rampal’s ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ speech
Arjun Rampal’s ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ remark at an awards show drew criticism from Shobhaa De. Partner Gabriella Demetriades hit back, calling the reaction “outrageous” amid Dhurandhar 2’s success.
Arjun Rampal plays Major Iqbal in Dhurandhar. (Photo: Instagram/Gabriella Demetriades)
Arjun Rampal is receiving widespread acclaim for his performance in Dhurandhar: The Revenge, where he plays Major Iqbal, an ISI officer in Aditya Dhar’s spy thriller. However, his recent gesture at an awards event, where he ended his speech with ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, did not go down well with writer Shobhaa De, who criticised it in her latest column. Rampal’s partner, Gabriella Demetriades, has now responded to her remarks.
What Arjun Rampal said
At the HELLO! Hall of Fame Awards, Arjun Rampal spoke about his experience working on Dhurandhar 2 and also opened up about witnessing the 26/11 attacks firsthand. He said, “On my birthday, I saw the horrors of 26/11 play out. In the morning, when I drove back home, I had to stop at least three times because I felt like I was going to be sick. When Aditya Dhar narrated the 26/11 sequence to me, I knew I was going to have my revenge, and that’s what I did with Dhurandhar. All I want to say is, Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”
ALSO READ: Dhurandhar 2 Worldwide Box Office Collection Day 7 LIVE Updates
What Shobhaa De wrote
Arjun Rampal’s closing remark at the awards show sparked criticism from writer Shobhaa De, who addressed it in her column for The Print, titled ‘Why Arjun Rampal saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ should worry Bollywood audiences.’ In the piece, she raised concerns about what she described as a shifting ideological tone within the industry.
“The takeover of Bollywood by Right–wingers is scary in the long run. The agenda is no longer hidden—it is brazenly out there. The narratives are being manipulated and rescripted to exclude all those who don’t subscribe to the ideology. Conversely, those who do are richly rewarded,” she wrote.
She further added, “When stars start using platforms such as awards nights to display loyalty and demonstrate allegiance to filmmakers creating political myths for public consumption, it’s time for alert audiences to assert their rights and call out the manipulators.”
“Until then, perhaps movie awards will come with a caveat: Actors will be mandated to chorus ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai!’, glittering trophy victoriously held up to catch the spotlight.”
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Gabriella Demetriades reacts to Shobhaa’s remark
The column soon drew a response from Arjun Rampal’s partner, Gabriella Demetriades, who reacted sharply in the comments section, writing, “This is outrageous.”
Demetriades had earlier praised Rampal’s performance in the film with an Instagram post. She wrote, “Dhurandar day … saw it last night and have to say , it’s my favourite Hindi film of all time. @rampal72 patience, persistence and positivity, you’re always inspiring and always raising the bar . #adityadhar is a legend and @ranveersingh you’re a star . The casting is a masterpiece @castingchhabra each and every person in the film is epic.”
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Dhurandhar 2 box office collection
Dhurandhar 2 is on a record-breaking run at the box office, continuing to mint money with each passing day.
According to Sacnilk, the Ranveer Singh-starrer collected Rs 47.70 crore in India on Wednesday, taking its domestic gross to Rs 744.58 crore and net collections to Rs 623.42 crore.
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Internationally, the film has earned Rs 61.92 crore so far, pushing its worldwide gross to Rs 1,006.50 crore. With this, Dhurandhar 2 has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore milestone within just a week of release, becoming the fastest Hindi film to achieve the feat.
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