There have been protests over the past few days in several parts of the country over the Citizenship Act.

Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, sweeping through college campuses across the country after the violence at Jamia University, is the latest controversy to divide the film fraternity, where some voices are louder than most and at the top, there is mostly silence.

Actors Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Parineeti Chopra, Taapsee Pannu, Manoj Bajpayee Konkona Sensharma and Alia Bhatt, besides filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Mahesh Bhatt and Sudhir Mishra were among those who took to social media to condemn the police crackdown on students.

Ayushmann Khurrana tweeted saying he was "deeply disturbed" over "what the students went through", adding that "protests also cannot turn violent and lead to the destruction of public property".

Actor Rajkummar Rao, in a tweet, condemned the "violence that the police have shown in dealing with the students", adding that he also condemned "any kind of act of destruction of the public properties".

"This has gone too far... can't stay silent any longer. This government is clearly fascist... and it makes me angry to see voices that can actually make a difference stay quiet," tweeted Anurag Kashyap.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh said he stood by protesting students and said he did not "support any kind of violence". Actor Richa Chaddha also expressed solidarity with the students. Alia Bhatt posted photo of the preamble on Instagram, followed by a message that read: "Learn from the students".

Filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava, known for the critical hit 'Lipstick Under My Burkha', recalled her time as a student at Jamia Millia and said her heart bled for the students.

Those who have been silent till now have been called out in tweets, even from within the fraternity.

"On behalf of the students of Jamia and AMU, request at least one of you to tweet or message Mr.Modi condemning this act of police brutality and violence against students. The time has come to speak up guys. Yes? No? May be," tweeted actor Sayani Gupta along with the famous star-studded selfie of film celebrities with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tagging Ranveer Singh, Karan Johar, Ayushmann Khurana and Rajkummar Rao. The last two have commented.

On behalf of the students of Jamia & AMU request at least one of you to tweet or message Mr.Modi condemning this act of police brutality and violence against students. The time has come to speak up guys. Yes? No? May be?@RanveerOfficial@karanjohar@ayushmannk@RajkummarRaopic.twitter.com/6l5ky5zbNt — Sayani Gupta (@sayanigupta) December 15, 2019

Shah Rukh Khan -- an alumnus of Jamia -- and Aamir Khan were nudged by tweets like that of Kannan Gopinathan, who quit the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) over the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Dear Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, You know that people look up to you, right. Millions of us. Your silence is now getting deafening," tweeted Mr Gopinathan.

Dear @iamsrk, @aamir_khan... You guys know that people look up to you right. Millions of us.

Your silence is now getting deafening.

Whatever GoI is threatening you with, your silence is going to cost you so much more. Love & respect you guys earned with your hardwork!#NoToCAB

Aruni Kashyap, a writer, posted the same picture and tweeted: "Prime Minister's Friends: Every actor, singer, celebrity from Assam on the street, protesting CAA. And these Bollywood stars are still silent because they are worried about their box office returns. Students are getting beaten up all over the country, at least raise your voice!"

One of the bigger stars that did comment on the Jamia violence was Akshay Kumar, but a controversy broke out as he said he had accidentally "liked" a tweet on the violence on campus.

Regarding the ‘like' on the tweet of Jamia Milia students, it was by mistake. I was scrolling and accidentally it must have been pressed and when I realised I immediately unliked it as In no way do I support such acts. — Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) December 16, 2019

South mega star-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, asked about the silence, said today that it was because "more and more voices are being stifled".

Another film giant from the south, Rajinikanth, who announced his political debut two years ago, also remained cautiously silent on the citizenship protests. "This is a cinema function. I don't want to mix politics and cinema," he told reporters on Monday at a trailer launch.

There have been protests over the past few days in several parts of the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which helps non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan become Indian citizens if they have entered the country before 2015. Critics say the act discriminates against Muslims.