Entertainment

IIE Digital Desk: After a Maldivian minister’s tweet criticising Lakshadweep sparked tensions between India and Maldives, several stars like Akshay Kumar came out in support of the islands. Now, Emmy-winning comedian Vir Das has also weighed in on the situation.

Vir Das took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight how Indian influencers and celebrities who had put a lot of effort into creating their Maldives vacation content were now apprehensive about sharing it on social media.

He tweeted, ‘Firstly, happy Lakshadweep is getting some love! Secondly, somewhere in the Maldives, right now, is an Indian celebrity/ influencer, who didn’t eat carbs for two weeks, took the best vacation photos ever, and is TERRIFIED to post them.’

Reacting to Vir's tweet, an X user suggested, ‘They can just post it saying it's Lakshadweep/ Looks almost the same; will get much more engagement right now.’

Another said, ‘Few are deleting the past ones too.’

One more tweeted, ‘One (Indian influencer/celeb) already put pics last week and now lecturing others to stay away.’

Following the lead of Bollywood actors like John Abraham and Shraddha Kapoor, several celebrities including Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, and Urvashi Rautela shared photos of Lakshadweep amid calls for boycotting the Maldives. These celebrities joined the movement to promote Indian tourism after some prominent figures from the Maldives ridiculed India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to explore Indian islands. PM Modi had recently shared images from his visit to the Lakshadweep Islands.

Sara took to Instagram Stories to react to a friend's beach photos from Lakshadweep, writing, ‘After all the north Indian expeditions I have taken you on – time for you to make me explore the islands and jungles of our country.’

Janhvi Kapoor said she was looking forward to visiting Lakshadweep. She wrote on Instagram Stories, ‘Are these pristine blue waters real? How beautiful is Lakshadweep! So glad to see this treasure in our country is getting the attention it deserves, can't wait to explore Indian Islands’.

Sharing a series of pictures, Urvashi wrote in her caption, ‘Planning to go Lakshadweep. Our country has so many magnificent tourist destinations, with unimaginable potential; yet to be fully explored. Can any of you guess this Indian tourist haven, just from the pictures I’ve posted? Explore Indian Islands... @narendramodi.’