00:00Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt lit up the red carpet at the Netflix screening of The Bats
00:04of Bollywood.
00:05But behind the glamour, a blink-and-you-miss-it moment from the series has already sparked
00:09a storm.
00:10Spoiler alert ahead!
00:11Ranbir makes a surprise cameo.
00:12In one episode, he walks into Karan Johar's office and is seen casually vaping for just
00:16a few seconds.
00:18What was meant to be a tiny moment has now turned into a major controversy.
00:21Activist Vinay Joshi filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, arguing
00:25that showing a superstar vaping without a health warning normalizes the act for impressionable
00:30viewers.
00:31The NHRC has reportedly asked the Information Ministry to take action and advise Mumbai Police
00:35to register an FIR against Ranbir, the producers and Netflix under the Prohibition of Electronic
00:40Cigarettes Act 2019.
00:41Interestingly, several media reports suggest Ranbir has been on a very different journey
00:46in real life.
00:47In the run-up to playing Lord Ram in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, he has reportedly quit smoking
00:51and alcohol, turned vegetarian and even cut out meat entirely.
00:54Sources close to the actor say the shift isn't just about preparing for the role, but also
00:59adopting a healthier lifestyle for the sake of his young daughter Raha.
01:02And that's where the contrast lies, an actor who by most accounts has embraced clean living
01:07off-screen, appearing in a cameo where he is casually vaping on-screen.
01:10So what do you think?
01:12Should an on-screen cameo like this be taken so seriously or is the backlash blown out of
01:16proportion?
01:17Tell us in the comments!
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