Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor has voiced support for students protesting over the NEET examination controversy, but her statement has sparked criticism online, with many questioning the timing of her remarks.
In an Instagram post shared on Wednesday, Kapoor said she could no longer remain silent, stressing that young people deserved to be heard.
"I've sat with this for a few days, but I can't sit with it any longer. The voices of so many young people asking to be heard are impossible to ignore... and they shouldn't be," she wrote.
The actor said education gives children confidence and hope for a better future, but warned that faith in the system is lost when students believe honesty, hard work and merit no longer matter.
"But education only works if children believe in it," she wrote. "And they stop believing the moment they suspect that honesty, hard work and merit don't actually count."
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Kapoor added that students deserved "a system they can trust, where merit is real, effort is rewarded, and every child starts on equal footing."
She also urged society to listen to young people and act without delay.
"They aren't preparing for tomorrow. They are tomorrow," she concluded.
Social media reaction
While many users welcomed Kapoor's support, others criticised her for speaking out nearly a month after student-led protests began.
Several users alleged that Bollywood celebrities had remained silent until it was politically safer to comment.
One user wrote that Kapoor had waited until the issue had received official attention before expressing her views, while another claimed multiple Bollywood celebrities appeared to have issued similar statements on the same day.
The NEET controversy has triggered weeks of protests by students demanding greater transparency and accountability in the examination process.
