Bollywood actress and businesswoman Shraddha Kapoor was recently in a rare place, not on the sets of a Bollywood film, but on LinkedIn, the business networking site. Why? Her verified LinkedIn account was inadvertently marked as a phony, disallowing her to leverage the site to post about her business ventures. What ensued was a speedy but action-packed exchange between the star and LinkedIn, eventually pointing to the increasing overlap of celebrity culture and professional identity.
The Unexpected Glitch
On Saturday night, Shraddha vented her anger on Instagram, posting a note on her Story that said:
“Dear LinkedIn @linkedin_in, I’m not being able to use my own account because LinkedIn thinks it’s fake. Can someone please help me?”
Despite creating a premium and verified account, Shraddha revealed that others couldn’t view her profile. Her intent, she added, was to start sharing her entrepreneurial journey with her audience.
“Account is made, premium and verified, but no one else can see it. Want to start sharing my entrepreneurial journey, getting an account itself has become a journey,” she quipped.
This case is illustrative of the way even celebrities, who are all but invisible to the public eye, are not immune to platform verification problems.
Rapid Response by LinkedIn
No sooner did her tale go viral than it wasn’t long before LinkedIn sprang into action. In another Instagram Story, Shraddha took pride in their quick response and posted:
“Team LinkedIn resolved it in less than an hour on a Saturday night.”
She ended the message with a clap and salute emoji, showing appreciation for their quick response.
Even though the issue was solved immediately, the incident brought out the issue of having multiple users, celebrity or no, struggling with online identity verification. In a time where social networking websites and professional networking sites are the impetus for image formation, such events have broader ramifications than can be imagined.
Shraddha Kapoor: Actor Turned Entrepreneur
Though Shraddha Kapoor is a name that has been heard in every household for quite long now, she’s also making waves in the corporate world. She is one of the co-founders and brand ambassadors of Palmonas, an age-old jewellery firm that was launched in 2022. Palmonas is a demi-fine jewellery brand that has already hogged the limelight with its appearance in Shark Tank India, where it received a ₹1.26 crore funding from Sharks Namita Thappar and Ritesh Agarwal.
As more and more interest is generated in Indian startups and women entrepreneurship in India, Shraddha’s move into LinkedIn was a natural progression in her effort to connect with other professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors. Her goal is to highlight her entrepreneurial path beyond the Bollywood glitz, and her now-functional LinkedIn page will be a key part of that.
A Glimpse into Shraddha’s Cinematic Journey
Even after starting a business, Shraddha’s acting life is as eventful as before. Her latest movie release, Stree 2, which was released on August 15, 2024, was a box office blockbuster. The horror-comedy film, which was directed by Amar Kaushik, had an all-star cast of Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurana, and raked in a whopping ₹857.15 crore at the global box office. As a sequel to the 2018 hit Stree, it reaffirmed Shraddha’s popularity and star power.
Fans of the franchise can rejoice that the third installment of Stree is already in the pipeline and is slated for release in 2027.
Meanwhile, Shraddha is preparing to step into a completely new avatar in the upcoming film Naagin, directed by Nikhil Dwivedi. The filmmaker, in a recent interview with India Today, revealed:
“She was excited. She was the first one to come on board. I approached her first with the idea, and she was sold. She can’t wait to start the shoot, now that the script is ready.”
Naagin will reimagine the traditional Indian folklore of serpent shapeshifters, and Shraddha’s involvement adds both curiosity and star appeal to the project.
A Contemporary Indian Woman: Merging Art and Business
Shraddha Kapoor’s LinkedIn gaffe might have been a glitch, but it was also a testament to her commitment to growing as a multifaceted personality. Whether producing box-office hits or building a new-age jewelry brand, Shraddha’s professional life exemplifies how Indian celebrities today are reinventing themselves not only as actors but also as entrepreneurs and changemakers.
With her profile open and business goals in place, rest assured that Shraddha is set to shine on screen and online, too.