While Bollywood Is Busy Making Money, It Seems Only Leonardo DiCaprio Has Time For India¡¯s Water Crisis

A study by UN Human Rights has recently stated that global warming could create ¡°climate apartheid¡±, where rich people will be able to buy their way off the worst effects of climate change and poor people will suffer bearing the brunt of what they barely contributed to.

So, they were right when they said money can buy everything, even survival in this case ¨C which at the moment equals to happiness to many people.

Water scarcity is a serious issue. Will the Dystopian dramas turn into reality?

If you¡¯ve seen Netflix's Leila, a show set in 2040s, you would know what we saw on the show is not a far-fetched idea. Severe air pollution and water scarcity will soon hit us hard. Or should we say it has already? It might lead to violence as well. But rich won¡¯t be affected much, the UN study has confirmed.

For the people of Chennai the nursery rhyme ¡®rain rain go away¡­ come again another day¡¯ can be quite offensive at the moment because at the moment, Chennai is dealing with one of the most worst crisis in 30 years ¨C it has run out of water. People are going without a single drop of water for a stretch of 200 days.

The reserves are drying up too. Chennai¡¯s main rain-fed reservoir Lake Puzhal is drying up. The satellite picture shows it has only a fraction of water left as compared to last year.

The situation is so bad that even Hollywood actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio is worried. He recently posted about the worrisome situation and said that only rain can help at his hour.

View this post on Instagram

#Regram #RG @bbcnews: "Only rain can save Chennai from this situation." A well completely empty, and a city without water. The southern Indian city of Chennai is in crisis, after the four main water reservoirs ran completely dry. The acute water shortage has forced the city to scramble for urgent solutions and residents have to stand in line for hours to get water from government tanks. As the water levels depleted, hotels and restaurants started to shut down temporarily, and the air con was turned off in the city's metro. Officials in the city continue to try and find alternative sources of water - but the community continue to pray for rain. Tap the link in our bio to read more about Chennai's water crisis. (? Getty Images) #chennai #watercrisis #india #bbcnews

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Jun 25, 2019 at 1:42pm PDT

But what is Bollywood doing? Apparently it¡¯s still churning its money-making machine.

While Bollywood is making money, politicians are giving speeches, only Leonardo DiCaprio has come forth to acknowledge the grave issue the country is reeling under.

But why is Bollywood mum?

Siddharth, the South Indian star who was seen in Leila and is popular for his role in Rang De Basanti, was perhaps one of the first celebs who acknowledged the issue and slammed the government for its negligence in a tweet.

Dear #TamilNadu government, if this #watercrisis is manufactured, then it is you who have helped manufacture it. Request the courts to set up a neutral panel to investigate and reveal why our people are suffering without water. This is our true #irundakaalam. #SaveWater https://t.co/5e55AojuB8

¡ª Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) June 19, 2019

Randeep Hooda is perhaps one of the few celebrities, who instead of talking on social media makes a difference in reality joined the Khalsa aid to provide drinking water in drought hit areas of Maharashtra.

Not only that, he also took to social media to share a video in which he is seen urging the government to "find permanent solutions" for the drought victims.

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There is a major shortage of water all over the country.. in #Maharashtra near #Nashik village #Vele with @khalsaaid_india volunteers trying to do our bit #EveryDropCounts be as prudent as you can @khalsa_aid #SaveWater @narendramodi @amarpreetsingh_ka @ravisinghka

A post shared by Randeep Hooda (@randeephooda) on Jun 9, 2019 at 4:05am PDT

But where are other celebrities?

Bollywood has often been slammed for its selective activism. ¡°I am Hindustan. I am Ashamed¡± ¨C Celebs have held placards reading this in protest against the rape and murder of an 8-year-old. But since then, we haven¡¯t seen them uniting for causes like this again.

When Leonardo DiCaprio can, why can¡¯t Bollywood?

Isn¡¯t film industry a part of the society? So, why it shouldn¡¯t be worried? Will they only come forth when CBFC or Karni Sena protests against their film?

If Meryl Streep can stand on the stage of Oscar and call out Donald Trump, why are Bollywood celebs quiet on the issues that bother one and all.

It¡¯s not only Chennai, but about 50 percent of India is under drought-like conditions.

According to Composite Water Management Index report release by Niti Aayog in 2018, 21 major cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad among others will race to reach zero groundwater levels by 2020. By 2030, the report said, the demand will be twice the available water supply.

What¡¯s more? As per Drought Early Warning System, more than 42 percent of India is ¡°abnormally dry¡±. And this is 6 percent higher than the last year.

The clock is ticking. The world will soon come to an end. It¡¯s going to be deadly for the next generation to survive. It¡¯s time to speak up. It¡¯s time to act.