A Hindu spiritual guru who heads one of India's right-wing political parties lauded Kashmiri actress Zaira Wasim for quitting the film industry to become a more devout Muslim and asked Hindu actresses to draw inspiration from her, outraging netizens.
Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha President Swami Chakrapani tweeted words of praise: "Actress Zaira's (Wasim) decision to withdraw from films because of religious beliefs is praiseworthy. Hindu actresses should also take inspiration from Zaira."
Reacting on the issue, Chakrapani tweeted in Hindi, "Actress Zaira's (Wasim) decision to withdraw from films because of religious beliefs is praiseworthy. Hindu actresses should also take inspiration from Zaira."
Chakrapani, who often amuses social media with his controversial or provocative comments, appears to have done it once again.
Some users opted to mock him, noting that most Indian actresses are Hindu, and that Bollywood would need to hire cross-dressing actors or rope in “non-Hindu” actresses like Scarlet Johansson from Hollywood.
On 30 June, the actress, who shot to prominence for playing the young Indian athlete Geeta Phogat in the 2016 blockbuster 'Dangal', took to Instagram to say: “Bollywood took me away from Islam”. In her six-page letter posted there, she cited interference in her religious practices as the reason for her decision to quit films.