Reem Shaikh, best known for her role in Tujhse Hai Rabta, found herself at the centre of a controversy recently. It all began when a video surfaced from the sets of Laughter Chefs 2, where a paparazzi’s question about the Ahmedabad plane tragedy caught the actress off guard. The brief clip, showing her response, went viral within hours, and the backlash that followed was swift and merciless.
On June 12, the country woke up to grim headlines. A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, heading from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff. It was around 1:38 p.m. when the aircraft went down, claiming the lives of over 200 passengers. The nation was in shock, and naturally, public figures were expected to react with empathy. But a moment of hesitation on camera made Reem a target.
In a recent interview on a podcast with HindiRush, the actress opened up about the entire incident. She described how overwhelming the situation was that morning. Reem explained, “Uss waqt joh hua, bahot fast hua. Mein set pe aayi, aur kisi ne poocha, ‘Kal ke baare mein batao?’” It was a random question tossed at her in between hectic schedules. Reem shared that reaching the set by 7:30 in the morning, getting ready in an hour, and dealing with a swarm of people around her left little room for mental clarity. “Your mind is absent,” she admitted.
What made the situation even more personal for Reem was her own family connection to the airline. Her elder sister works as a flight attendant with Air India, the same airline operating the ill-fated flight. Long before the news hit television screens and social media, Reem was already battling anxiety. She recalled receiving over a dozen frantic phone calls asking about her sister’s whereabouts. “What I experienced… they might not even know,” she pointed out.
Despite this, Reem refrained from turning the moment into a public performance of grief. She chose not to appear in front of the cameras with a visibly sorrowful face. “Just because maine media ke saamne dukhi chehra nahi rakha, that does not mean I didn’t go through something,” she stressed. But social media wasn’t willing to see nuance.
The trolling came hard and fast. Online platforms flooded with hateful comments. Users questioned her sensitivity, patriotism, and character. Some called her a ‘Deshdrohi’ while others told her to go to Pakistan. Reem described the harsh language people used against her. “Bahot gandi-gandi gaaliyan likhi thi. Bahot bura bola tha,” she revealed, adding that abusive messages continued in her DMs too. For the first time in her career, she truly understood the weight of public trolling. “Maine actually trolling kya hoti hai, woh face kiya,” she confessed.
Despite the storm, Reem has chosen to move forward. She reflected on the incident as a painful learning curve but one that also revealed the harsh nature of social media judgment. The actress remains grateful that her sister was safe and continues to serve in the airline.
On the professional front, Reem recently wrapped up Laughter Chefs 2, where she was paired alongside actor Aly Goni. The reality show allowed audiences to see her fun, spontaneous side, far from the dramatic roles she’s known for.
