Varun Dhawan's Shout-Out To The Real Coolie No 1

It's a profession which is traditionally considered a male bastion, but these women coolies - or porters - prove that gender is no bar in a job. Their work is now being applauded by not just the Ministry of Railways, but also actor Varun Dhawan.

Varun Dhawan, who wrapped up the shoot of his upcoming film Coolie No 1 in February, today tweeted in appreciation of women coolies. The 32-year-old took to the microblogging platform to respond to a Ministry of Railways tweet about "lady coolies" who have "proved that they are second to none".

"Yeh hain #coolieno1 (they are Coolie No 1)," he wrote, responding to the Ministry of Railways tweet which shows three women coolies towing luggage on different railway stations. Take a look at Varun Dhawan's tweet below:

Yeh hain #coolieno1 https://t.co/sZyr6WpdYf

— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) March 4, 2020

Varun Dhawan's tweet has collected nearly 1,800 'likes' on the microblogging platform.

"Yes, truly an inspiration," one Twitter user agreed with the Student Of The Year actor in the comments section. "Salute to them!" said another.

The Ministry of Railways tweet, however, also earned criticism from many, including Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

This is a disgrace. But instead of being ashamed of this primitive practice, our @RailMinIndia is proudly boasting of this exploitation of poor women to carry heavy head loads?! https://t.co/qPvqjBfarw

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 4, 2020

Instead of glorifying such harsh working conditions in 2020, you should work towards improving it. Have minimum sense what to do PR around.

— Sourav Ghosh (@AmateurOutrage) March 4, 2020

Coolie No 1 - a remake of the 1995 film with the same name – has been directed by Varun Dhawan's father David Dhawan, who also helmed the original. Varun Dhawan stepped into the shoes of Govinda for the remake, which will hit the theatres on May 1. The film also stars Sara Ali Khan.