Soni Razdan rejects religious angle after troll invokes Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana role.
Actor says Diwali firecracker debate should focus on pollution and children's health.
Her response follows the Dia Mirza-BMC video controversy and Bombay High Court intervention.
Veteran actor Soni Razdan has responded to an X user who dragged her son-in-law Ranbir Kapoor's portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramayana into the Diwali firecracker debate. The user questioned her stance against bursting crackers, linking it to the festival's association with Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya. Razdan rejected the religious angle, saying her concerns were about air pollution, children's health, and the responsibility people share towards, and people's shared responsibility toSoni Razdan responds to troll over Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana role
Soni Razdan responds to troll over Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana role
The exchange began after an X user reacted to one of Razdan's earlier posts on firecrackers. The user wrote, "Soni Razdan is Ranbir’s mom-in-law. The irony is that Ranbir is playing Ram, whose return to Ayodhya is celebrated as Deepawali, when people light diyas and burst crackers. Yet she says bursting crackers on Diwali is anti-life, anti-health, and above all, ‘anti-national’. Really!"
Razdan responded on Thursday, saying the user had missed the point of her argument. She wrote, "Then you are simply unable to see the wood for the trees. It’s not bursting crackers that is anti-national. What is anti-national is the fact that you are contributing to the terrible air pollution. My goodness. No wonder we all can’t breathe."
She added, "People can’t understand a simple message because they think every statement is about religion. It’s not. It’s about air. And children are struggling," she said.
Razdan further stressed that pollution affects everyone, irrespective of faith. "Because it’s your children, everyone’s children, irrespective of which religion they belong to, who are suffering. And so are the citizens of this country. I’m assuming that also includes you," she wrote.
Soni Razdan's earlier comments on Diwali firecrackers
The latest exchange follows Razdan's support for Dia Mirza, whose anti-pollution awareness video for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was removed after objections from Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam. The Bombay High Court later directed the civic body to restore the video.
Razdan had earlier written, "Bursting crackers is not what makes you nationalistic. And choosing not to burst them is certainly not anti-national."
She also argued that putting public health at risk for personal pleasure was a more relevant concern. The controversy intensified after Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde described Mirza as “anti-Hindu”. Razdan's latest response reiterates that air pollution is a public health issue, not a religious debate.
