Indian TV actor who shared cyclone photoshoot responds to backlash: ‘I don’t regret it’

‘I don’t regret it but, I would definitely request the audience to not step out in the rain’ said the actor

Peony Hirwani
Monday 24 May 2021 14:11 BST
Comments
Indian actress Deepika Singh Goyal dances in rain wrought by Cyclone Tauktae

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An Indian television actor who is facing backlash after posting pictures of herself dancing in the rain amidst debris of a tree damaged by cyclone Tauktae, has said she does not regret the photoshoot some see as insensitive.

Deepika Singh told India Times: “I haven’t seen any hate comments on my post. 99 per cent of the comments I’ve received are positive. Rest 1 per cent bad comments are on all the posts, even on my traditional dance posts.”

“I will not stop spreading positivity, and this is for my well-being and happiness. I don’t regret it but, I would definitely request the audience to not step out in the rain, this area is right outside my house. Therefore, I stepped out for 5 minutes,” she said.

Some Twitter users criticised the photos she uploaded for being off-colour in the face of the devastation caused by the cyclone.

Speaking of the fallen tree in her posts, she said: “That tree fell on my car.”

“I had planted that tree in front of my house five years ago, and four to five days ago, we were discussing how beautifully this tree has grown and on the cyclone day, it fell,” she explained.

“The cyclone indeed was very scary and my heart goes out to all those affected and my only aim is to plant as many trees as I can,” she said.

In the Instagram caption, she wrote: “You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself, embrace nature and its gloomy moods because the storm will pass... Ps: This tree fell right outside my house nobody got hurt, but while putting it away from my door, Rohit and I managed to take few pictures to remember the Cyclone Tauktae!”

One Twitter user wrote: “Poor and middle class people problems with #CycloneTauktae is to plan that water doesn’t fill in their in houses or that they have shed in their heads but this how rich one reacts and deals with #Tauktecyclone#DeepikaSingh #insensitive.”

The extremely severe tropical cyclone hit several states along the coast of Arabian sea, causing damage to life and property. Last week, the Indian Navy recovered at least 51 bodies, two days after a barge that had gone adrift sunk into the Arabian Sea when the storm hit India’s western coast.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in