Shikhar Pahariya protects Janhvi Kapoor in a crowd of paps; fans compare with Tom-Zendaya, call him ‘Borivali ka Tom’

In a popular clip that’s been circulating on Instagram, Janhvi Kapoor was seen arriving at her father Boney Kapoor’s home with rumoured beau Shikhar Pahariya and her brother Arjun Kapoor, just before the Lakshmi Puja began. The premise for a chivalrous gesture was set: a house crowded with pushy paparazzi, Janhvi navigating the chaos in her Diwali saree and Shikhar leading the way. As the crowd grew larger, Shikhar who was walking ahead of Janhvi, stepped in to protect her.

He took her hand and guided her through the crowd in a gesture that has netizens comparing him to Tom Holland and his longtime girlfriend Zendaya. In a video released in late October, Hollywood and Broadway star Tom was seen intervening when paparazzi swarmed Zendaya during their date night in New York City. The Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) star stepped in to aggressively shield Zendaya, escorting her through the crowd amidst the media frenzy.

Netizens react

The gesture sparked a conversation among netizens. In many previous videos, Shikhar has often been seen walking ahead of Janhvi, leaving her to navigate the paparazzi; a few online users felt that drawing a comparison between Shikhar and Tom’s protective moments was more of a reach than reality, suggesting the two situations weren’t as similar as they appeared. “You pull her out of the crowd and then start walking ahead of her leaving her behind😂 Kya Tom banega re tu😤😂😭,” read a comment. “He pulled her out of the crowd then left her hand in milliseconds,” was another. A reply to that comment was the sly, “Pull out game too strong 😮‍💨.” Another comment highlighting the half-hearted gesture was, “Noooooo this is so embarrassing 😭 Borivali ka Tom.”

It seems like netizens were claiming that Shikhar could certainly take a cue from Tom’s heartfelt gesture when it comes to Janhvi. Tom’s actions with Zendaya were not only a display of affection, but also of genuine care and respect for her comfort in the face of overwhelming attention.