#DilSeThankYou keeps trending as B-Town stars salute Mumbai Police

MUMBAI: The hashtag #DilSeThankYou has kept trending on Twitter all of Thursday and well into Friday, which is hardly surprising because it includes the tweets of Bollywoods A-list. What catches your attention about this particular trend, which had garnered an impressive 51.3k tweets in less than 24 hours, is the reason.

Bollywood stars, as a community, have always rooted for all things patriotic. In these times of COVID-19 peril, B-Town has also banded together as a social media entity to promote the virtues of lockdown. The recent #DilSeThankYou sees the stars stand up and ovate India's Corona Warriors -- particularly Mumbai Police -- who have been working tirelessly to ensure a safe city, even as Mumbai continues to be one of the worst-affected zones in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in India.

As Akshay Kumar rightly noted, the need of the hour was to thank the police for their service. "There's an army of people working day and night to keep us safe, our families safe. Lets together say #DilSeThankYou to them because that's the least we can do," the superstar said on social media.

An emotional Akshay, in a separate tweet, posed with a piece of paper on which he had written "#Dil Se Thank You."

The caption of the picture thanked all Corona Warriors. It read:

"Name : Akshay Kumar

City : Mumbai

Mere aur mere parivaar ki taraf se...

Police, Nagar Nigam ke workers, doctors, nurses, NGOs, volunteers, government officials, vendors, building ke guards ko #DilSeThankYou"

To Akshay's tweet, Jackie Shroff replied: "Asli stars respects."

A video posted by Mumbai Police within the hashtag, in this context, has become very popular among the stars. Ayushmann Khurrana, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon are among many stars who retweeted the video, which subtly conveys the message how tirelessly the police force have been working in these taxing times.

In the video, which runs for two minutes and two seconds, we see a heartwarming collage of policemen across ranks, who are asked the same question: What would they do if they had a chance to stay at home during the 21-day lockdown? The answers remind you that beneath their superhero conviction to serve the nation, police personnel are human beings, too. Some of them talks of spending much-yearned time with family, some want to play with their pets, some want to relax in from of a TV set, while a few would simply go back to sleep.

Re-tweeting the video, Ayushmann Khurrana wrote in Marathi: "Don't have words to thank you enough! Today I thank you with my whole heart for keeping us safe."

The Mumbai Police gave a witty reply in Marathi, with a reference to Ayushmann's films, "Vicky Donor" and "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan".

"'Thank you Vicky, we will do everything to keep the mumbaikars zyada saavdhan," they wrote.

Posting the video, Alia Bhatt agreed with Mumbai Police that it was best that we all stayed at home under the circumstances. "Thank you @MumbaiPolice Words cannot express our love and gratitude. Let's stay home for them. #TakingOnCorona."

That apart, Alia retweeted the reply her tweet elicited from Mumbai Police, that said: "Mumbaikars, we hope you all are 'Raazi' with this advise of Ms @aliaa08 to not venture out in any �Gully' unnecessarily and take care of �Dear Zindagi' for all!"

The video also seems to have touched a chord with Katrina Kaif, who also shared it on Instagram.

"Thank You Mumbai Police. Saluting the bravery and dedication of the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Police who are working so hard while we stay in the safety and comfort of our homes. Tremendous respect for all of you #DilSeThankYou #StayHome #MumbaiPolice #MaharashtraPolice," Katrina captioned the video.

Another actress who posted the same video on social media is Kriti Sanon. She took to her Twitter handle and posted the video with the message: "A Big Big Thank You to the #MumbaiPolice and people in the police forces of other cities.. Even to doctors, nurses, hospital staff, essential goods vendors, BMC and all the ppl who have been out of their houses so that we can stay at home safe!! "

Every star had his own way to thank Mumbai Police, sharing the video. Tiger Shroff wrote: "So so grateful and lucky we are to have you all @MumbaiPolice. can't thank our real heroes enough."

For Ajay Devgn, his city's police force is second to none, anywhere in the world. "Dear Mumbai Police, you are known as one of the BEST in the world. Your contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic is unparalleled. Singham will wear his Khakee and stand beside you whenever you ask. Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra @CPMumbaiPolice @MumbaiPolice"

Anil Kapoor expressed: "This is the time to heartily thank our Mumbai Police, who leaving their families at homes are working with their high spirit and untiring efforts for our security and safety.. Thank you Mumbai Police.. Love you Mumbai Police," he tweeted.

Posting under "#DilSeThankYou, Sonakshi Sinha chose to look at the perils of India's Corona Warriors. "While we are in the safety of our homes waiting for this phase to pass,doctors,healthcare workers, @MumbaiPolice, essential service providers, volunteers and government officials are leading the battle against Corona. Here is a #DilSeThankYou to all of them for taking care of us," she wrote.

Sonakshi also put up a short video where she is seen ornately sketching the words "Dil Se Thank You" on a sketch pas and flashing it for the camera. Alanis Morissette's 1998 single "SIlence" plays in the background.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police tweeted mentioning Abhishek Bachchan's character in the "Dhoom" franchise, ACP Jai Dixit, as an inspiration. Their official handle shared: "Just taking the 'ACP Jai Dixit' route to ensure that the city gets back to normalcy soon -- that too, with a 'Dhoom'! All Mumbaikars need to do is not make 'Dus Bahaane' about going out unnecessarily!"

Reacting to the tweet, Abhishek wrote: "Always in debt to them and the great work they do. @MumbaiPolice."

Throughout Thursday, Twitter kept buzzing with gratitude messages from B-Towners.

Raveena Tandon shared: "This is the time to thank our mumbai police,who leave their families at home and are working with untiring efforts for our security and safety.. Thank you @MumbaiPolice we are forever indebted."

Jackie Shroff expressed: "@MumbaiPolice @DGPMaharashtra Asli Stars #RealHeroes #OurPride."

Urvashi Rautela posted: "This is the time to heartily thank our @MumbaiPolice & Maharastra police, who leaving their families at homes are working with their high spirit and untiring efforts for our security and safety.. #ThankYouMumbaiPolice #ThankYouMaharasthraPolice."

Varun Sharma wrote: "We are safe sitting at home and the only thing we need to do is be home. Me my family are greatful and don't have words to thank Police , Doctors , NGOs , building guards and every person out there helping us be safe and storm this crisis. @MumbaiPolice @mybmc #DilSeThankYou."

Director-producer and chat show host Karan Johar expressed: "This is the time to show our gratitude to the ones who are working selflessly and tirelessly to keep us safe. Despite being away from their families and loved ones, they work with their spirits high to protect us. And for that, we are very grateful @mumbaipolice. Thank you!"

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar wrote: "Salute & respect to our @MumbaiPolice #IndiaFightsCoronavirus."

Producer Ekta Kapoor shared: "Your undying spirit, determination and courage to keep our city safe is fantastic. Putting our safety before anything else, you guys are the pillars that are keeping us strong! ... Gratitude #ThankYouMumbaiPolice for all your hard work! #DilSeThankYou @MumbaiPolice."

Heartfelt wishes and encouraging notes have also kept pouring from netizens all over the country at #DilSeThankYou.