Bollywood Stars Questioned for Praising Modi While Living Overseas

MUMBAI: Raj Thackeray had a direct question for actor R. Madhavan at a youth rally yesterday. If you truly love India and believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the country, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief asked his followers, why do you live in Dubai with your family?

The challenge, delivered at an event marking the twentieth anniversary of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, reflected a broader critique Thackeray has leveled at celebrities who publicly endorse the government while maintaining residences abroad. Madhavan, known for his public praise of Modi and his governance record, has chosen to base himself in Dubai rather than India, Thackeray noted. That contradiction, he suggested, undermines the credibility of such public statements.

Thackeray extended his criticism to actor Vivek Oberoi, who portrayed Modi in a biographical film about the Prime Minister’s life. Oberoi, too, resides in Dubai, Thackeray said, despite having accepted a role in what the MNS leader characterized as a government-sponsored project. The pattern he described was pointed: actors return to India specifically to work on films backed by the government, then depart for their overseas homes.

The MNS chief cited this as symptomatic of a larger exodus. He claimed the government itself has acknowledged in Parliament that entrepreneurs and business leaders are leaving the country. If Modi’s policies have truly delivered the development and transformation these actors claim to celebrate, Thackeray argued, why would they choose to settle abroad? The question carried an implicit accusation of hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, Thackeray turned to the students gathered at the rally with a different register entirely. He thanked them for organizing the first student rally since the nationwide protests that erupted following the chaos surrounding the NEET examination. The scale and energy of those demonstrations, he suggested, signaled something significant about the concerns animating young people across India.

He reflected on how much the issues facing students have shifted over his years of activism. When he began his work, the problems were different. Today’s challenges are entirely transformed. He marked the passage from one era to another, citing the shift from Telegram to Instagram as emblematic of broader generational change. Small detail, large implication.

Thackeray also offered a caution about how the recent protests are interpreted. The term “Gen Z” has gained currency in public discourse following the student mobilizations, but he urged his audience not to assume this refers only to young people in urban centers. Understanding the concerns of Gen Z requires attention to rural Maharashtra as well, he said. The young men and women in villages and smaller towns face distinct circumstances and carry their own urgent preoccupations.

The rally served two purposes at once: a platform for Thackeray to challenge what he views as inconsistency among public figures who benefit from government favor, and an occasion to speak directly to students about the shifting terrain of youth activism. Whether those students in rural Maharashtra, the ones Thackeray insists must be included in any honest account of this generation, will find their concerns reflected in the movement going forward remains the open question.