Actor Vivek Oberoi is being savaged on social media and has also earned himself a notice from the National Commission of Women after sharing a meme equating election exit polls to his past relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Mr Oberoi, who campaigned for the BJP earlier this month, is trending for more reason than one - his biopic of Narendra Modi, in which he stars, will release this Friday (votes in the Lok Sabha election will be counted on Thursday) after being forcibly pushed back from its original release date before polling began last month. Vivek Oberoi's tweet of the poster of the film, however, has been quickly eclipsed by the one with the meme which has gone viral. Actress Sonam Kapoor denounced Mr Oberoi's tweet as 'disgusting and classless.' Her sentiments were shared by many on Twitter - #VivekOberoi, #Aishwarya and Mr Oberoi are trending.
Vivek Oberoi tweeted the meme with this endorsement: "Haha, creative. No politics here, just life."
National Commission for Women issued a notice to Mr Oberoi for his tweet, reported news agency ANI.
On Twitter, the backlash was instant and intense. Sonam Kapoor and sportsperson Jwala Gutta reacted with disdain:
Disgusting and classless. https://t.co/GUB7K6dAY8
— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) May 20, 2019
Extremely absurd of you to tweet this!! Disappointing!
— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) May 20, 2019
Others were more expansive in their criticism, telling Mr Oberoi to grow up and move on. There were also tweets pointing out that the meme, which he is helping circulate, includes a picture of Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan's little daughter without her parents' consent:
The curious case of #VivekOberoi
— irfan (@simplyirfan) May 20, 2019
Since their break-up, Salman has never uttered word about Aishwarya Rai.
Vivek Oberoi, on the other hand, called her a plastic doll,
repeatedly blamed her for manipulating him & destroying his career.
And now this crass meme! Move on, Vivek. pic.twitter.com/S8CtewOmDL
#VivekOberoi the tweet is in bad taste. Why should you malign a lady for your selfish ends. Distasteful and disgusting. You must apologize.
— shyamantika sethi (@shyamantikaS) May 20, 2019
loser, spare ur stupid joke on someone's personal life
— Nehr_who (@Nehr_who) May 20, 2019
Vivek Oberoi and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, co-stars of the film Kyun! Ho Gaya Na..., are believed to have dated in the early 2000s. Ms Rai Bachchan, who is currently in Cannes, married actor Abhishek Bachchan some years later in 2007. Their daughter Aaradhya was born in 2011.
