Alia Bhatt found herself at the center of a social media storm after a video she recorded for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Chandigarh surfaced online on August 14. The clip, captioned “Alia Bhatt joins hands with NCB to spread the message of a drugs free Bharat,” quickly went viral. In the 30-second message, Alia addressed viewers with, “‘Namaskar saathiyon, main hun Alia Bhatt.’ Today I want to talk to you about a very serious issue of drug addiction and how it’s becoming a threat to our life, society, and nation,” among other remarks. However, the video’s release triggered a wave of backlash so intense that the NCB eventually disabled the comment section. At last count, only six comments remained before the floodgates opened on other platforms. Users began reposting the video with scathing commentary, dragging Alia, her husband Ranbir Kapoor, and other Bollywood stars into the fray. One user lashed out, saying, “She and her friends and her ‘khandaan’ are also druggie, criminals,” while another mocked, “‘Haan chor ko hi chowkidari pe laga diya.’” Adding fuel to the fire, an old clip from a star-studded Bollywood gathering hosted by Karan Johar resurfaced. The video featured Ranbir, Deepika Padukone, Shakun Batra, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan and others. At the time of its original release, a politician had accused the attendees of alleged drug use, a claim that continues to haunt the industry’s public image.
