Chandigarh, India – A special anti-drugs campaign video featuring Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, which was shared by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Chandigarh on August 14, has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. The NCB was forced to disable the comment section on its social media post after it was flooded with negative remarks and memes from netizens who questioned the actor’s suitability as a brand ambassador for the campaign.
The 30-second video shows Alia Bhatt urging citizens to join the NCB’s “Drugs Free Bharat” and “Nasha Mukt Bharat” campaign, and to take an e-pledge against drug use. The post’s caption read, “Alia Bhatt joins hands with NCB to spread the message of a #DrugsFreeBharat #NashaMuktBharat #azadifromdrugs.”
However, the video was met with a barrage of criticism. Social media users reposted the clip with biting commentary, taking digs at Alia Bhatt, her husband Ranbir Kapoor, and other Bollywood celebrities. Many of the comments referenced past controversies related to drug allegations in the film industry. One user sarcastically wrote, “🤣 she and her friends and her khandan is also druggie, criminals,” while another tweeted, “Haan chor ko hi chowkidari pe laga diya 🤣.”
A viral video from a 2019 party hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar—which featured Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Vicky Kaushal, and others—was also widely shared, with one netizen sarcastically commenting, “Alia Bhatt Supports NCB To Spread Awareness About Drug Addiction. Meanwhile her friends 🤣👇.” The video from Karan Johar’s party was the subject of a previous controversy when a political leader accused the attendees of being in a “drugged state.”
The backlash also brought up an old interview of Ranbir Kapoor from 2011, in which the actor admitted to using weed as an “acting tool” for his film Rockstar. One user commented on the NCB video, “they have a first hand experience 🤡,” and another added, “The more clients you introduce the more discount you get kind of promotion.”
The widespread online trolling is rooted in a history of allegations against Bollywood celebrities. A major NCB investigation into a drug consumption and distribution network in Bollywood was triggered in 2020 following the untimely death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The probe led to the questioning of several high-profile actors, including Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, and Shraddha Kapoor. Later, in 2021, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, was arrested in connection with a drug bust on a cruise ship. He was later cleared of all charges in 2022.
On the professional front, Alia Bhatt is set to appear in the YRF action thriller Alpha, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, where she will star alongside her husband Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.