Patna: As Nepal grapples with violent anti-corruption protests, Bollywood and Nepali celebrities have stepped in to express solidarity with the demonstrators and condemnation of the bloodshed.
Manisha Koirala, who was born in Nepal and is one of Bollywood’s most acclaimed actresses, shared stark images of the unrest on Instagram, including a blood-stained shoe from the protests in Kathmandu. Writing in Nepali, she called Monday “a dark day for Nepal when the voice of the people, their anger against corruption and their demand for justice were answered with bullets.”
Koirala, whose grandfather Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala was Nepal’s first democratically elected prime minister, also paid tribute to him on his birth anniversary on Tuesday, reiterating his ideals of justice and democracy in light of the current turmoil. She urged the media not to reduce the unrest to a reaction against the social media ban, but to highlight the protesters’ deeper fight against corruption.
Actor Rohit Saraf, best known for his role in the Netflix series Mismatched and now promoting his new film Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, also posted an emotional message on his Instagram story. “To all the people of Nepal… my condolences and prayers are with you. The price of any conflict should not be the lives of innocent people. Violence is never a solution. I hope for dialogue, compassion and peace,” he wrote.
The protests, which began after the Oli government banned 26 social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, quickly escalated into a broader movement against corruption and government inaction. On Monday, police opened fire on demonstrators, leaving at least 19 dead and more than 200 injured.
By late Monday night, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned and the government lifted the ban on several social media sites. But the unrest, fuelled by economic frustration and an exodus of thousands of young Nepalis seeking jobs abroad, shows no signs of abating.
Celebrities like Koirala and Saraf have amplified the voices of protesters, highlighting their demands for transparency, accountability and freedom of expression. For many in Nepal and its diaspora, the crisis has underscored a generational demand for change.
