Veteran actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan found herself at the center of a heated debate after a video surfaced showing her pushing away a man who tried to click a selfie with her outside the Constitution Club in the capital.
The footage, now widely circulated on social media, shows Bachchan walking towards the venue when a man approached with his phone. Appearing visibly annoyed, she pushed him aside and questioned his actions. The moment, though lasting only a few seconds, has ignited strong reactions online.
Social media users are sharply divided. Critics have called the gesture unnecessarily aggressive, accusing the actor-politician of disrespecting the public.
Supporters, however, argue that celebrities are often subject to invasive behavior and that Bachchan was simply defending her personal space.
Bachchan has previously expressed her discomfort with unsolicited photographs. In a past podcast conversation with her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda, she remarked on the constant intrusion, asking rhetorically, “Am I not a human being?”
Among the most vocal critics was actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who reposted the video on her social media, calling Bachchan “spoilt and privileged.” Ranaut claimed that such conduct is tolerated only because of Bachchan’s association with her husband, Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, and used sharp language to describe her appearance at the event.
This is not the first time the two parliamentarians have been at odds. In 2020, Bachchan had publicly rebuked Ranaut over her comments about the Hindi film industry, marking the beginning of an ongoing war of words between them.
As the video continues to spread, the incident has once again brought to the fore the tense balance between public figures’ right to privacy and the public’s enthusiasm for celebrity encounters.
