Urvashi Rautela’s social media 'obsession' with Rishabh Pant is no laughing matter but harassment and stalking | Opinion

It all started as a misfired PR attempt. Rishabh Pant and Urvashi Rautela were spotted together in Mumbai and reports began circulating about them dating. The cricketer soon denied and that should have been the end of the matter. But years later, Urvashi seems to be finding it a bit hard to move on. Over the last week, as the cricketer was the talk of the town after his horrific car crash, the actress did everything possible to refer to him without actually naming him on her social media. It may have started as a joke but it stopped being funny long ago.

In any civilized society, Urvashi’s social media ‘obsession’ (pardon me for using such a loaded word but I will justify it later) would be labeled harassment and borderline stalking. Just because it is a famous actress doing it does not mean it should be swept under the rug.

The latest chapter in this saga began with Urvashi mentioning a certain Mr RP and how he tried to woo her. Fans thought it was a dig at Pant, and the cricketer even responded with an Instagram Stories post on liars. Urvashi shot back and Rishabh retorted and people watched their social media volleys with popcorn in hand. It was all fun, even if slightly silly to see two grown celebs indulging in this mudslinging. But it was fun nonetheless.

Then, Urvashi took it a notch higher. She began appearing at the stadiums hosting Team India matches when Pant played, began posting stories about praying for someone after Rishabh’s horrific car crash. The fun element began to dissipate now. Just like a chewing gum that stays in your mouth for too long, this joke had begun to lose its flavour. It reached a crescendo on Thursday when an injured Rishabh was shifted to a hospital in Mumbai, only for Urvashi to share a picture of that hospital on Instagram. If that’s not stalker behavior, I don’t know what is.

Here is a man, a national hero in sports, who has time and again conveyed that he wants nothing to do with this actress. And yet, he is being provoked repeatedly with the woman needling him and at times, even landing up at places where he is. That is an example of stalking and harassment. Many have argued that if the genders were reversed, the harassment would be more blatant. But I think that is a needless argument. She isn’t getting a free pass because she is a woman, but only because she is a celebrity most of us are not taking seriously. Gender is irrelevant, but her social cache is.

A tweet on Thursday asked: ‘Why is Rishabh not taking a restraining order is beyond me’. The answer is simple. As a celeb, he does not want more publicity around his life. He gets enough of that already. And given his recent injuries, Urvashi is probably low on his list or priorities right now. But just because he has chosen to ignore it does not mean we should. We shouldn’t belittle it, at least. Let’s call a spade a spade and let’s call this blatant stalking for what it is. And let’s tell Ms Rautela that this repeatedly creepy, attention-seeking behaviour is not doing her any favours.