The star-studded second day of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) Gala saw action both outside the venue and inside. While major Bollywood and Hollywood stars showed off their sartorial choices on the pink carpet outside, many performances on stage inside stole the show. But amid this was a moment that many fans found a bit unsavoury.
Varun Dhawan was one of the artistes who performed on stage on Saturday night. The actor’s performance was applauded but his gesture of calling supermodel Gigi Hadid on stage and then lifting her up without warning raised a few eyebrows. A viral video from the event shows Varun take Gigi by her arm and call her on stage. The supermodel, dressed in a golden saree, arrives on stage as Varun suddenly lifts her up in his arms and swings her around.
Varun Dhawan lifting Gigi Hadid! Nobody's safe lmao
by u/Enthu-Beaver in BollyBlindsNGossip
Hadid looks visibly surprised by this and the incident had many questioning if this was a scripted moment or not. After the video went viral and was posted on several social media sites, many fans criticised Varun for the actions. One wrote, “No one likes to get touched or kissed without their consent that’s basic manners ..calling them on the stage to lift and kiss them when you know that the other person has no choice but to just go with the flow…boundaries yaaar.” Another commented, “This needs to be scripted or else it's f***ing weird. This man needs to stop lifting people like this and kissing.” Many wondered if Gigi was annoyed at the incident. “She will never come to India after this,” one comment read.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre was inaugurated on Friday evening in a grand ceremony where Nita Ambani herself performed on stage and Hollywood stars like Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Gigi Hadid were in the audience. Oscar winner Penelope Cruz also arrived in Mumbai for the event on Saturday and graced the pink carpet. Others in attendance at the mega event included Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, and many more.
