Joke or jibe? Twitterati see red over actor Prakash Raj’s Chandrayaan cartoon
While one user pointed out that it could be a reference to a popular joke, most X users felt it was an insult to ISRO and India’s Moon mission
Actor Prakash Raj has come under fire from Twitterati for posting a cartoon on Chandrayaan-3 as India’s Moon mission seeks to script history in two days by landing on its south pole.
It wasn’t entirely clear what he meant to say with the cartoon, which depicted a man in a vest and lungi pouring tea in a strange way, but Raj chose to post it with the following caption, “BREAKING NEWS: First picture coming from the Moon by #VikramLander Wowww”.
However, many X (formerly Twitter) users felt Raj’s tweet posted on Sunday was intended at mocking India’s Moon mission. The popular actor is known for being an open critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A joke?
While one user pointed out that it could be a reference to a popular joke, others felt he was being hateful towards ISRO because of his political ideology. “There is a funny saying.. when you land on the moon, you will find a malbari (sic) already having a tea shop there.. I don’t think his intention is to say anything against ISRO,” wrote a user.
However, others slammed his post for being “derogatory”. “Shame on you for mocking #Chandrayaan3 in your blind hate for Modi. You are mocking our scientists who put years of their lives into making this a success,” a Mumbai-based BJP member replied.
Comedian Appurv Gupta replied: “There is a difference between hating someone and hating your country. So sad to see this state of yours!”
“Sir I’m follower of ur ideology and ur thoughts but Chandrayaan 3 is something whole of India must be proud of, irrespective of political ideology (sic),” wrote one user.
“Some of its own citizens are praying for Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan 3 to fail so that they can pin down the Modi government,” another user posted.
All eyes on Chandrayaan-3
With Russia’s Moon mission Luna-25 failing in its attempt to land on the lunar south pole on Sunday, all eyes are on Chandrayaan-3 that will make the landing attempt on Wednesday evening.
ISRO on Sunday said it has successfully reduced the orbit of Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander module, and it is now expected to touch down on the surface of the Moon at 6.04 pm on August 23. The space agency said the lander module would undergo internal checks ahead of the planned soft landing.
ISRO’s second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, attempted a soft-landing on the Moon in September 2019, but failed in the final stages.
(With agency inputs)