Amid RG Kar tension, Sohini & Swastika promote new work; face backlash

KOLKATA: Since the beginning of the RG Kar Hospital protests, Tollywood actresses Swastika Mukherjee and Sohini Sarkar have been outspoken. They participated in protests and even spent an entire night protesting at Esplanade during a citizen’s rally.

Frustrated by the RG Kar incident, Sohini also said she doesn’t want to become a mother in this country. She also urged everyone not to get swept up in Durga Puja festivities but to keep demanding justice.

Outside RG Kar Hospital, Sohini said that soon the media would shift its attention to covering Durga Puja celebrations. Now, after her appearance in a Puja advertisement for a saree brand, netizens are enraged with the actress. Swastika has also faced similar trolling after sharing the first look of her Durga Puja Bengali

release, ‘Tekka’.

Despite a month passing since the RG Kar incident, justice remains elusive. Many have questioned the CBI investigation, with the administration also facing criticism. Some celebrities have even called for a boycott of Durga Puja, suggesting that those requesting donations should instead observe mourning. Now, both Sohini and Swastika are facing backlash for their recent professional appearances—Sohini in a Puja collection advertisement and Swastika promoting her film.

Sohini’s involvement in a promotional video for a well-known saree brand has drawn criticism, with detractors questioning: “Why are you promoting a puja collection after saying people should mourn, stop shopping and that you don’t want to become a mother in this country? What changed?” Many accused her of being fake and called it “drama.”

Swastika, too, has faced criticism for sharing the first look of ‘Tekka’, directed by Srijit Mukherji and also starring Dev and Rukmini Maitra. One netizen trolled her, writing: “Apnar cinema dekhte jabo na. Apnar publicity stunt public dhore feleche (Won’t go to watch

your films.

The public has caught onto your publicity stunt).” Another commented: “Ay jonnoi ato social media te lafalafi. Nijeke promote korar jonno (This is why you’re making so much noise on social media—to promote yourself).”

Despite this, both actresses continue sharing updates about protests happening across the state and abroad to seek justice for the tragic rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital a month ago.