Rahul Gandhi hugs PM Narendra Modi during the no-confidence motion (Image courtesy: LSTV)
Highlights
- "Today is official Hug Day," Rajkummar Rao tweeted
- Sonam Kapoor quoted Rajkummar's tweet
- They will co-star in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga
The hug that was heard/felt/seen around social media even nudged tweets out of Bollywood, not usually known to comment on political matters, as Parliament debated a no-confidence motion on Friday. Lok Sabha exploded when Congress chief Rahul Gandhi ended a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government by walking across to the PM and giving him a hug - in return, Mr Gandhi received a pat on the back. The hug promptly reverberated across Twitter where #RahulGandhi, 'Pappu,' #RahulHugsModi, #BhookampAaGaya and other hashtags trended all day. The hug has been captured for posterity on social media in the form of jokes, memes or simple opinion posts and, somewhat unexpectedly, a very tiny section of Bollywood chimed in as well.
Actor Rajkummar Rao played the opening shot, declaring it 'Hug Day.' His Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga co-star Sonam Kapoor swiftly reposted his tweet with two hug emoticons.
Here are Sonam and Rajkummar's tweets.
Music composer Vishal Dadlani took a more serious route, commenting on the BJP's dismissal of Rahul Gandhi's hug as 'childish.'
Just three tweets from Bollywood - but, given that movie stars and the like generally reserve opinion on anything so current or political as parliamentary proceedings, it's a start. It's worth remembering that three years ago, Sonam Kapoor vowed to stick to fashion in her tweets after being trolled for wrongly using the word 'misogynistic' in a post criticising the meant ban in Maharashtra.
Meantime, 'Hug Day' proved popular with several Twitter users.
Read the tweets here.
Sanjay Dutt's 'jaadu ki jhappi' from the Munna Bhai MBBS films is also being gleefully referenced.
That's not the only Bollywood joining of dots on the part of Twitter. In another cinematic reference, politician Baba Siddique's annual iftaar party, once the scene of a hug between then-enemies Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, was also invoked.
Sonam Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao will be seen with the actress' father Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, scheduled to release in September.