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Dhruv Rathee breaks silence on Janhvi Kapoor thumbnail row and explains why his ‘fake beauty’ video was misunderstood.
Dhruv Rathee reacts to Janhvi Kapoor thumbnail controversy in Bangladeshi Hindus case.
A YouTube thumbnail has sparked a full-blown online storm. Social media timelines have been buzzing after Dhruv Rathee used a before-and-after image of Janhvi Kapoor in the thumbnail of his video on ‘fake beauty’. The backlash grew louder when some users claimed the video was a response to Janhvi’s recent post supporting Bangladeshi Hindus. As the speculation snowballed, Rathee released another video to directly address the claims and shut down what he called a misleading narrative.
Where the controversy began
Rathee starts the clarification video by reading out a viral social media post that fuelled the outrage. The caption read, “Wake Up Hindus. Janhvi Kapoor posted for Bangladeshi Hindu & Dhruv Rathee made a video questioning her beauty.”
The accusation went viral across platforms, with many users assuming intent based purely on timing and the thumbnail image.
Rathee reacts to the claims
Reacting sharply, Rathee questioned why people were believing online posts without basic reasoning. He said, “Tumhe Bhagwan ne dimag diya hai, kyun nahi istemal karte iska? Matlab BJP ke IT cell wale jo post dalte rahenge, tum usse andhadhun yakeen karte rahoge. Pehli chiz toh jis din Janhvi Kapoor ne post daali, usi din maine aadhe ghante ka video dal diya. Kya yeh realistically possible hai? (God has given you a brain, why don’t you use it? You’ll blindly believe whatever the BJP’s IT cell posts. Firstly, I posted a half-hour video the same day Janhvi Kapoor shared her post. Is that realistically possible?)”
He went on to explain that criticising Janhvi for speaking about Bangladeshi Hindus made no sense, especially given his own content. “Dusra maine khud Bangladeshi Hindus ke upar reel banayi, toh main uss chiz ko lekar kyun criticise karunga? Main tum logo ki tarah nahi ho ke kisiko indirectly criticise karta. Main jo bolna hota hai mou pe bolta hoon. Naa main tumhare papa se darta aur naa hie main kisi Bollywood celebrity se darta (Secondly, I myself made a reel about Bangladeshi Hindus, so why would I criticise that? I’m not like you guys who criticise people indirectly. I say it on the face whatever I have to say. I’m not afraid of your father, and I’m not afraid of any Bollywood celebrity).”
What the ‘fake beauty’ video is actually about
Rathee clarified that the video had nothing to do with Janhvi’s political or social posts. “Aur teesri sabse interesting chiz yeh hai ke yeh pura video plastic surgery ke upar hai, ke uska kya impact padhta hai society pe. Iss poore video mein maine Janhvi Kapoor se koi sawaal nahi kiya (And the third most interesting thing is that this entire video focuses on plastic surgery and its impact on society. I didn’t ask Janhvi Kapoor any questions throughout the video).”
He added that Janhvi was used on the thumbnail because she is among the few Bollywood actors who have openly admitted to undergoing cosmetic procedures.
Silence from Janhvi Kapoor
As of now, Janhvi Kapoor has not responded to the controversy or Rathee’s clarification video.
December 28, 2025, 07:30 IST
