Nimrat Kaur and Abhishek Bachchan Caught in Rumour Mill: Why Are Women Always Blamed in Celebrity Gossip?

Rumours around marital discord between actors Aishwarya and Abhishek have been doing the rounds for over a year now. From deliberating on why Bachchan family members did not publicly wish Aishwarya on her birthday, to why they've appeared separately for functions or events, the internet has dissected their relationship at every opportunity they got.

The most recent addition to this narrative has been a link-up with actor Nimrat Kaur, who shared screen space with Abhishek for a movie recently. On paparazzi videos, she has gotten relentlessly trolled too, post the spread of rumours. This pattern of scrutiny isn't new, but it underscores how often women are unfairly blamed or targeted whenever rumours of such kinds surface.

Adding Fuel to Fire by Digging Up Old References

One of the things that commonly happen in such situations is old relics going viral again, with them being taken out of context to fit a narrative.

This time, a handwritten note from Amitabh Bachchan, is going viral. Posted by Nimrat, in 2022, the note was handwritten by the actor, in appreciation of her hard work in the movie Dasvi. In the Instagram post, Nimrat had expressed how overjoyed she was at receiving the note. The note read, "We have hardly had any interactions or meetings. The last was a compliment I gave at a YRF event for the Cadbury ad. But your work in Dasvi is exceptional, the nuances, gestures, everything! My deep admiration and congratulations."

While it seems completely logically acceptable that a renowned senior actor appreciated her work, that too two years ago, it being circulated now amid the rumours of her being linked with Amitabh's son, takes the whole thing wholly out of context.

Interview snippets of the two have also gone viral, from the time the two were promoting their film together.

In this video, a comment by Nimrat saying "Marriages don't last that long", has been posted by users of Instagram, completely without any context of the rest of the interaction. Comments vilified Nimrat, and many compare her to Aishwarya.

In what seems like a response to a long association of the anchor with a brand, a sentence being highlighted randomly, the video has one sole purpose – grab attention and falsely add fuel to the fire.

In another, where a person on X (earlier known as Twitter) was trying to justify his rumoured cheating, another user highlighted an interview of Abhishek praising his wife.

Even a recent video on friendship and jealousy posted by the actor has received flak.

Women Being Blamed During Relationship Gossip

Nimrat being dragged through the mud is yet another example of the internet pitting women against women, and villainising women, no matter what the given situation is. This is especially common during personal events, like divorces and separations, even though there's no real need for dissecting these unfortunate events, even while they happen to celebrities.

In the case of Nimrat and Abhishek, while audiences indulge in gossip-mongering, it should be highlighted that giving a clean chit to Abhishek, a married man while blaming her, only reeks of ingrained sexism.

Blaming the woman is a common trope. When Kusha Kapila and her husband broke up, in what they said was a mutual amicable decision, trolls bashed her for leaving him, while cooking up stories about her love life.

Read: Kusha Kapila Broke Up. Can We Stop Obsessing Over It Already?

Recently, actor Shobhita Dhulipala got engaged to Naga Chaitanya, and the couple shared photos from the occasion. Thereafter, Sobhita faced a barrage of hate, with many users labelling her as a "homewrecker," and drawing comparisons to Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Naga Chaitanya's ex-wife. Remarks like "Samantha is far better than you" and "Samantha deserves better" flooded her posts.

The above reeks of internalised misogyny. The broader enjoyment of spreading and enjoying such content also is telling of the voyeuristic pleasure people derive from dissecting unfortunate events in celebrities' lives.