Three days before the release of 'Chhapaak' (Hindi), Deepika Padukone stormed into national news by making a seemingly insincere visit to the JNU campus in Delhi to convey her solidarity for Leftist students of violence on the campus. Since then, the Bollywood actress has been heavily trolled, leading to polarizing reactions from her supporters and trolls alike.

A newspaper report suggests that some of the brands (and their number is 23) endorsed by Deepika are reducing the visibility of ads featuring her in order to avoid negative reactions from the public. This is a temporary moratorium on the playing of ads on television and in the print. Once the controversy fades away from public memory, the ads featuring her will be back in business as before.

'Chhapaak', produced by the 'Padmaavat' actress, has not been doing that well at the box-office despite the controversy. It has netted less than Rs 20 Cr in India in its first three days at the BO. Some analysts are of the view that this is not a sign of any punishment by the audience. Writes Kartikeya Tanna, "I would say it is because of the competition and the sensitive topic (the film is about an acid attack survivor's tale of courage). People generally prefer escapist cinema."