India’s dream factory is not known to take a strident stance on nightmares. Dominant segments of the Hindi film fraternity — actors, directors and their patrons — have chosen to keep a safe distance from the thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets in recent times demanding the withdrawal of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act or to protest against police brutality inside universities. Only a handful of courageous artists — Deepika Padukone is among them — have chosen to be an exception to this rule. In a significant and inspiring departure, Ms Padukone decided to express her solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University who had been victims of a brutal, orchestrated assault by peers allegedly associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Ms Padukone has done what every conscientious Indian would have been expected to do in an hour of crisis. But the fact remains that such gestures, especially from celebrities, are rare. That may have something to do with the nature of the response of the powers that be. A spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party has called for a boycott of Ms Padukone’s films. Some others have castigated her act as a publicity stunt. The show of support from a popular artist seems to have added to the government’s nervousness. What if a pliant but influential constituency — the film industry — were to start speaking the language of ‘anti-nationals’? That could rob an authoritarian regime of an ally with formidable powers of distraction. The toxic outpouring against Ms Padukone is thus indicative of a deeper anxiety. For all its trumpeting of prowess, the government is known to have a rather prickly skin. The slightest whiff of criticism sets it after critics — political opponents, scribes, activists, actors and so on — with the aid of means more foul than fair.

Ms Padukone’s action also raises a larger issue. In the modern age, celebrities are, unfortunately, prisoners of fame. So much so that eminence can begin to eclipse their individuality as well as the autonomy of their choice. It is entirely possible that Ms Padukone felt the need to visit the besieged university not as an actor but as an ordinary citizen acutely conscious of her rights and, more important, responsibilities in these restive times. An empathetic and humane sensibility is entirely consistent with a righteous mind.