Popular Bengali Actor Heckled As She Tries To Join Protest March In Kolkata

Bengali actor Rituparna Sengupta -- trolled recently over a protest video she posted -- was heckled yesterday when she had gone to take part in the "Reclaim the night" protest march. Videos of the "Go back" slogans and the subsequent pummeling of her car by the crowd has been strongly criticised by artistes of the film industry, who had so far backed the protests over the rape-murder of a young doctor at a city hospital last night.

Ms Sengupta had faced hostility from a group of protesters as she arrived in north Kolkata's Shyambazar -- one of the key protest venues.

When she attempted to address the crowd, she faced angry protesters shouting "Go back". As the situation escalated, the police and Ms Sengupta's bodyguards escorted her to her vehicle, which then left the area. 

In interviews to local dailies and television channels, the actor had expressed her anguish, saying she was not connected to any political party and had gone to stand with the protesters as a citizen.

Much of the anger directed at the actor was because of a video she posted on August 15. In it, she was seen blowing a conch and then delivering a protest message.

But people pointed out that the visuals made it clear that she was not actually blowing the conch and just miming it. The sound, they claimed, was superimposed. Some even pointed out that the conch she was using was the wrong sort of conch -- one that is never used for blowing. 

The collective conclusion of social media was that the actor was only faking grief to join the bandwagon. Faced with the barrage of criticism and disparaging memes, the actor had taken down the post. 

Ms Sengupta had recently been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the ongoing investigation into the multi-crore ration distribution scam. There was suspicion that the money was being chanelled into her films, sparking perception that she is close to the state's ruling Trinamool Congress.