A man in Mumbai got an unexpected lesson on keeping streets clean when actor Anushka Sharma called him out for littering the road from his car.
The incident, which was filmed and uploaded on Twitter by Anushka's husband and cricketer Virat Kohli on Saturday, garnered divisive reaction from social media users.
In the tweet, Virat wrote, "“Saw these people throwing garbage on the road & pulled them up rightfully. Travelling in a luxury car and brains gone for a toss. These people will keep our country clean? Yeah right! If you see something wrong happening like this, do the same & spread awareness." The message was tweeted along with a video in which actor Anushka Sharma can be seen calling out two men in a luxury car.
"Why are you throwing garbage on the road?" Anushka was heard asking in the video. The man, visibly taken aback by the sudden encounter, did not reply. "Please be careful, you can't just throw plastic around on the streets," she added
The video however received a mixed reaction from social media users. While many users came out in support of the 29-year-old cricketer, there was plenty of backlash, especially for posting the video without blurring the identity of the man.
Delighted to see the tweet of @imVkohli reg @AnushkaSharma reprimanding the person . @swachhbharat @swachhindia is possible if each one of us is conscious of our responsibilities . Cleanliness is a habit that yu internalise yurself. Nobody needs to tell yu. Bravo @AnushkaSharma
— Chaitanya Prasad (@Chatty111Prasad) June 17, 2018
It’d be very interesting if Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are sued for filming someone in a defamatory manner and posting on social media. Promote cleanliness without scratching ppl. Did you take their consent before posting video on social media?
— Ravi Sutharsan (@RaviSutharsan) June 16, 2018
It’s good to know that you’re concerned about hygiene and cleanliness of the nation but you must keep in mind few things
— Adhishesh Kaul (@dradhishesh) June 17, 2018
1. You can’t be defaming people on social media
2. You need to talk with some etiquettes
3. While you were schooling him there was a traffic piling up behind
If they are so concerned about cleanliness and wanted to spread awareness ..then they shouldve politely asked him to use a dustbin. But posting a video on the net and publicly humiliating him is wrong.
— anamika (@ana9mika) June 17, 2018
Good one-but pls don’t challenge PM this time with a ‘Cleanliness’ challenge video.Had enough with his #FitnessChallenge video.
— Thameesudeen Syed (@thameesudeen) June 17, 2018
Accessibility to dustbins and cleanliness around that area will encourage people not to litter and use dustbins instead. And there are always educated fools who give a damn about these stuffs.
— Sathish Krishnan (@SatyKrish) June 17, 2018
Well done mam !
The man in question himself posted a response to Virat's video criticising the cricketer and his celebrity wife for a perceived lack of etiquette. He further added that the trash that fell out of the car was less than the 'trash' that came out of the actor's mouth and criticised Virat Kohli for posting the video online.
Arhann's mother also reacted to the video.