Publicity stunt by film stars on Facebook backfires

KATHMANDU: Three popular film artists posted identical Facebook statuses on Tuesday evening, sparking widespread discussion online.

Within minutes, actresses Anjana Baraili and Keki Adhikari, and actor-director Deepak Prasad Acharya appeared to be engaged in a public spat on social media. In quick succession, all three declared that they would no longer work with one another and even advised others to do the same.

Anjana first tagged the director and wrote, “No one should work with Deepak Prasad Acharya”. Seconds later, Keki followed with a similar post: “Never work with Deepak Prasad Acharya in your life.” Soon after, director Acharya responded with his own post: “From today, I’ll never work with Anjana or Keki again.”

All three are part of the upcoming Nepali film Paran, directed by Acharya. The film is scheduled for release this Friday. Their online exchange, coming just three days before the film’s release, immediately led fans to suspect a major fallout among the team. Some, however, interpreted it as a publicity stunt to promote the movie.

Several users took screenshots of the posts and shared them widely. Although all three artists deleted their statuses within 15 minutes, the screenshots had already gone viral across social media.

Director Acharya later apologized, explaining that the posts were not genuine disputes but part of a “truth and dare” segment from an interview.

Anjana and Keki also shared Acharya’s clarification. Still, many social media users criticized the stunt, saying that such tactics for publicity could harm the team’s reputation and undermine public trust.

Journalist Krishna Raj Adhikari commented under Deepak’s post, saying such actions were embarrassing for those who promote Nepali films. “There are many viewers in Nepal who respect and admire artists. But in recent days, some artists have made disappointing posts on social media in the name of entertainment and cheap publicity,” he wrote.

Similarly, Khil Raj Nepal questioned whether artists are taking their audiences for granted, while Surya Ale Magar accused the team of deceiving fans and warned that audiences might start using similar negative stunts in return.