Raveena Tandon on student protests: 'Hooligans' hijacked movement, some came only to make 'reels’

First they were dismissed. Then they were debated. And now, they're being applauded.

As the political storm following Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation continues, actor Raveena Tandon has become the latest Bollywood celebrity to back the student movement, while also warning that parts of the protests lost their original purpose.

Sharing a detailed note on social media, Tandon said she felt 'happy and proud' that students had finally managed to make their voices heard. Referring to the ongoing protests in Rishikesh and elsewhere, she said the movement had rekindled hope and reminded young people that they have the power to shape the country's future. 

The actor also drew parallels with environmental and wildlife campaigns, saying many such movements had previously reached a dead end despite sustained efforts. See the screenshot of her post below:

According to her, the current wave of student activism showed that public awareness was growing and reinforced the message that protecting the planet and ensuring a better future should remain a collective responsibility.

However, Tandon alleged that not every protest retained its peaceful character. While praising demonstrations in Mizoram and several other states as examples of disciplined public participation, she claimed that in some places the movement was taken over by hooligans, political groups and people seeking social media attention.

She further said that incidents of violence and damage to public property appeared to be the work of unruly elements rather than genuine students. According to the actor, such people could have derailed an otherwise legitimate movement.

Despite those concerns, Tandon said the protests ultimately achieved what they had set out to accomplish.

She expressed hope that the developments would lead to meaningful reforms in the education system, help curb corruption and make quality education more accessible.

Ending her message on a positive note, she wrote, 'Jab padhega India, Badhega India.'

The actor's remarks sparked mixed reactions online. Shortly after sharing the post, she disabled the comments section on Instagram.

She also reshared a report claiming that 11 people arrested in connection with the Kolkata student protest violence were allegedly not students.

Tandon had earlier reacted to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation with a brief post calling it 'The power of youth and revolution.' She joins a growing list of Bollywood personalities, including Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Tara Sutaria, Vicky Kaushal, Malaika Arora, Vijay Varma and Abhishek Banerjee, who have publicly reacted to the political development.

Many of them had also previously expressed support for students during the NEET-UG paper leak protests and sought accountability from the government.