Tag: Naseeruddin Shah

  • ‘It’s disturbing that a film like The Kashmir Files is so popular’: Naseeruddin Shah

    ‘It’s disturbing that a film like The Kashmir Files is so popular’: Naseeruddin Shah

    Bollywood’s venerated thespian Naseeruddin Shah has spoken out against the rising popularity of propaganda films like ‘The Kerala Story’ and ‘The Kashmir Files’, both of which revolve around Islamophobic content. The former centers around the debunked claim that thousands of women in the state of Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and then recruited into ISIS. ‘The Kashmir Files’, a film about the mass evacuation of Hindus from Indian-occupied Kashmir, was slammed by critics for distorting facts.

    “Now the more jingoist you are, the more popular you become, because this is what has been ruling this country. It’s not enough to love your country but beat drums about it and you have to create imaginary enemies,” the veteran actor said while speaking to Free Press Journal.

    Shah said that filmmakers behind ‘The Kerala Story’ or ‘The Kashmir Files’ don’t realise that what they’re doing is harmful.

    “In fact, films like Kerala Story and Gadar 2, I haven’t seen them, but I know what they are about. It’s disturbing that films like Kashmir Files are so massively popular whereas movies made by Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha and Hansal Mehta, who are trying to portray the truth of their times, don’t get seen.”

    The ‘Masoom’ actor described the current environment “frightening” considering how filmmakers today are resorting to making movies on baseless accusations that trample down other communities:

    “It’s hard to resort to abstraction and capture life as it is. So regressive is a pretty mild word for what’s going on. It’s frightening when filmmakers are being coopted into making films which praise all the wrong things and run down other communities for no reason at all. It’s a dangerous trend.”

    The actor had previously written an open letter about the accusations of love-jihad on his 41-year-long marriage to Hindu wife Ratna Pathak, saying that he and his family were supportive of his wife’s decision to remain a Hindu.

    “As it happened, the subject of my wife Ratna converting to Islam was brought up just once by my mother and that as enquiry, to which, on receiving a reply in the negative, she concurred with a ‘Haan, mazhab kaise badla jaa sakta hai.’ Whether this statement of a woman weaned exclusively on a diet of the Quran makes more sense than the hate-filled rhetoric of ‘Hindus and Muslims cannot live together’, I will leave to the judgement of the reader.”

    READ MORE: Naseeruddin Shah opens up about ‘love jihad’ accusations on marriage to Ratna Pathak

  • Naseeruddin Shah opens up about ‘love jihad’ accusations on marriage to Ratna Pathak

    Naseeruddin Shah opens up about ‘love jihad’ accusations on marriage to Ratna Pathak

    Bollywood veteran Naseeruddin Shah recently wrote an open letter to the National Herald where he addressed his 41-year long marriage to Hindu wife and actress, Ratna Pathak. He wrote that their bond has remained strong despite accusations of ‘love jihad’ levied by the spouse of an ex-prime minister, who told him “No one said anything when you married outside your religion.”

    “I had no compunctions or hesitation about marrying a Hindu, and vice-versa.” wrote the ‘Masoom’ actor. “I didn’t dream that some put-out-to-pasture spouse of an ex-cabinet minister would, 38 years after my marriage, threaten me with ‘no one said anything when you married outside your religion’, stopping short of accusing me of love jihad but clearly implying that my time was now up.”

    The actor, who met Ratna during the rehearsal for Satyadev Dubey’s play ‘Sambhog se Sanyas Tak’ in 1975. The actor went on to clarify that he was incredibyl supportive of whether the actress wished to convert to Islam or not, and so was his mother:

    “As it happened, the subject of my wife Ratna converting to Islam was brought up just once by my mother and that as enquiry, to which on receiving a reply in the negative, she concurred with a ‘Haan, mazhab kaise badla jaa sakta hai.’ Whether this statement of a woman weaned exclusively on a diet of the Quran makes more sense than the hate-filled rhetoric of ‘Hindus and Muslims cannot live together’, I will leave to the judgement of the reader.”

    The ‘Ishqiya’ actor went on to emphasize how his strong partnership is proof that Muslims and Hindus can live together peacefully:

    “All I can say is that my union (accepted unquestioningly by both families) with a Hindu woman for 40 years so far is proof— if proof were needed—that it is not only possible but desirable for Hindus and Muslims to live together. So, from where did this poison appear? Or were the seeds of hatred planted during Partition slowly germinating all that while?”

    READ MORE: ‘Her parents were against it’: Naseeruddin Shah opens up about obstacles to marrying Ratna Pathak

    The actor had previously gushed about Ratna being a supportive partner who stuck with him through thick and thin, and how the two have remained close friends:

    “I just felt I’d like to know this person. Over the process of rehearsals, we got to know each other. I think she also liked what she saw. It’s been a great blessing because we have stood by each other through thick and thin. She has stood by me rather through thick and thin, through very difficult times, and through very good times. I think the main reason for that is because we have remained friends – that’s the most important thing.”

    “Ratna was a blessing for me. In hindsight, she probably deserved better—I had been married before and was a drug addict when I met her. In fact, her parents never approved of our match. But Ratna being who she was, never paid any heed to it. We never paid any heed to it. We knew we wanted to be together and that’s what we did. And that resulted in this beautiful partnership and friendship that we share to this day. I consider myself very lucky to have had Ratna with me through every thick and thin, and every sadness and happiness. It’s beautiful how we still find something new about each other every day, even after all this time–something more to love and cherish about the other person. More than anything else, that is what I live for.”

  • ‘Her parents were against it’: Naseeruddin Shah opens up about obstacles to marrying Ratna Pathak

    Bollywood veteran Naseeruddin Shah is perhaps the closest thing to a creative genius we have seen so far, but the one thing that outshines him is his marriage to fireball actress Ratna Pathak, who is equally witty and blunt about the faults in the industry as him.

    However, it wasn’t quite easy for the ‘Mirza Ghalib’ actor to marry his soulmate, as he recently revealed in an interview with Humans Of Bombay. Shah said that it took him seven years to convince Ratna’s parents to allow her to marry him.

    “Her parents were against it because I was married before and I was a drug addict. I was an ill-tempered man and all that sort of thing. But, she didn’t pay heed to any of that. In between, she went to drama school for three years. But we were practically living together. So when she moved in with me, it was like the most normal thing in the world.”

    Shah revealed that it was love at first sight for him while acting in a play with film maker Satyadev Dubey, and they got closer during rehearsals:

    “I just felt I’d like to know this person. Over the process of rehearsals, we got to know each other. I think she also liked what she saw. It’s been a great blessing because we have stood by each other through thick and thin. She has stood by me rather through thick and thin, through very difficult times, and through very good times. I think the main reason for that is because we have remained friends – that’s the most important thing.”

    Gushing about the ‘Kapoor and Sons’ actress, Shah declared that he loved how Ratna had stuck by him through thick and thin, which had resulted in a beatiful partnership and friendship between the two:

    “Ratna was a blessing for me. In hindsight, she probably deserved better—I had been married before and was a drug addict when I met her. In fact, her parents never approved of our match. But Ratna being who she was, never paid any heed to it. We never paid any heed to it. We knew we wanted to be together and that’s what we did. And that resulted in this beautiful partnership and friendship that we share to this day. I consider myself very lucky to have had Ratna with me through every thick and thin, and every sadness and happiness. It’s beautiful how we still find something new about each other every day, even after all this time–something more to love and cherish about the other person. More than anything else, that is what I live for.”

  • What, huh, Sindhi no longer spoken in Pakistan? Cha toh pee ain, Shah sb?

    Naseeruddin Shah, Bollywood’s acting powerhouse, recently spoke to ‘Tried & Used Productions’ about the BJP government’s attacks on Urdu language. Condemning the enmity displayed towards Urdu, he said that other than Pakistan, India is the only country where the language is spoken.

    However, a comment given by the actor ignited the ire of Pakistani Twitter users. Shah said that in Pakistan, people speak more Punjabi than Urdu, and Sindhi is not spoken there at all.

    We would like to point out that Sindhi is the official language of Sindh province and is taught as a compulsory language in all schools there.

    Turns out, Naseeruddin Shah may know everything there is to know about acting, but he doesn’t have much general knowledge.

    Many users had to question Naseeruddin’s confidence in saying that Sindhi isn’t spoken in Pakistan, when in reality it is the official language of the province, and is proudly spoken by locals.

  • ‘Fashionable now to hate on Muslims’: Naseeruddin Shah slams Modi on Islamophobia

    Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah spoke to Indian Express about growing Islamaphobia under the rule of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its influence on Bollywood.

    “Oh sure, these are worrying times absolutely,” the veteran actor said. “The kind of stuff that’s pure, undisguised propaganda is being lapped up and it’s a reflection of the zeitgeist of the times. Muslim hating is fashionable these days, even among educated people. It’s what the ruling party has very cleverly tapped into this nerve. We talk about secular this, democracy that, so why are you introducing religion into everything?.”

    The actor is well known for his out-spoken critique on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the spread of fascism in India, especially on the Indian Premier’s silence on growing hate speech in India.

    “I mean how spineless is the election commission of ours? Who doesn’t even dare utter a word. If there had been a Muslim leader who had said, ‘Allah Hu Akbar bol ke button dabao’, sh*t would have hit the fan. But here our Prime Minister goes ahead and says things like this and yet he loses. So, I have hope that this will wear off. But it’s definitely, at the moment, at its peak. It’s been a very clever card played by this government, and it has worked. Let’s see how long it continues to work.”

    Speaking on the rise of state propaganda films like ‘Mission Majnu’ and ‘Kashmir Files’, Shah said that the best thing that actors can do in these times is stay quiet and not participate in any propaganda, because artists these days are scared to raise their voice or fear their movies will be boycotted by the masses.

    Further addressing the role of art in influencing society, Shah urged all artists to raise the right questions, but also stressed on the need to come from a place of fearlessness. He further said that words and no action will not resolve the issue, but one has to practice what they preach.

  • Ratna Pathak Shah lands in hot water for terming ‘Karwa Chauth’ as regressive

    Ratna Pathak Shah lands in hot water for terming ‘Karwa Chauth’ as regressive

    Actress Ratna Pathak Shah of Kapoor & Sons fame has landed in hot water after her recent comments on a Hindu festival. This trolling is owing to the actress’ recent statements about India moving towards becoming an ‘extremely conservative society’ and slamming the concept of ‘Karwa Chauth’.

    During a recent chat with an entertainment portal, the Golmaal 3 star spoke about how women in the 21st century, are still observing age-old traditions like Karwa Chauth – a Hindu ritual in which the wife prays for her husband’s long life by fasting.

    Ratna Pathak Shah - Our society is becoming extremely conservative | Sarabhai vs Sarabhai 3 - YouTube

    While she revealed it was for the first time last year she was asked if would fast for her husband, Ratna also said that India is becoming ‘a conservative society’ and the first thing it does ‘is clamp down on its women’ – just like they have done in a country like Saudi Arabia.

    Netizens aren’t happy with Ratna Pathak Shah’s comments and have taken to social media to slam her for both dissing women keeping the Karwa Chauth fast and calling Saudi Arabia a conservative society while making comparisons. 

    EXCLUSIVE: Ratna Pathak Shah says society is becoming conservative: 'Look at number of ads for kundali dikhao' | PINKVILLA

    Ratna said that she was asked for the first time last year if she would fast for her husband, actor Naseeruddin Shah.

    “Nothing has changed for women or very little has changed in very crucial areas. Our society is becoming extremely conservative. We’re becoming superstitious, we’re being forced into accepting and making religion a very important part of one’s life. Someone asked me for the first time last year if I’m observing Karwa Chauth. I said, ‘Am I mad?’ Isn’t it appalling that modern educated women fast to pray for the long lives of husbands?”

    Growing Old Together: Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak's Love Story Restores Our Faith In Love

    She continued, “We are moving towards an extremely conservative society. The first thing a conservative society does is clamp down on its women. Look at all the conservative societies in this world. Women are the ones who are most affected. What’s the scope of women in Saudi Arabia? Do we want to become like Saudi Arabia? And we will become because it’s very very convenient. Women provide a lot of unpaid labour within the home. If you have to pay for that labour, who will do it? Women are forced into that situation.”

  • ‘Get a boob job, fix your face’: Ananya Panday reveals what hurt her in Bollywood

    ‘Get a boob job, fix your face’: Ananya Panday reveals what hurt her in Bollywood

    Bollywood actor Ananya Panday made her debut in Bollywood with Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year 2 with Tiger Shroff and has managed to mark her place in the film industry.

    In a recent chat, the actress revealed that she has faced ‘sexism’ in the early days of her career.

    During her recent appearance on The Ranveer Show, the Pati Patni Aur Woh diva said: “As soon as I started working, people started saying things like ‘you should fix this and fix that, like get a boob job or change something about your face. And, it is said very casually and not in direct words that you sometimes even don’t pick it up. They would say, ‘just fill up a little more. Put on some weight.’”

    Ananya Panday reveals facing ‘casual sexism’ in her initial days; Says people asked her to 'fill up'

    Ananya said that she felt hurt about it and would think, “Is that what people care about? Is that what I am reduced to? Is there nothing about me paramount to my waist size or chest size?” She said that the worst thing a person can do is judge them for their body.

    Panday mentioned that she wasn’t promised work in the industry nor was spoken about any opportunities. The actress also said that she always wanted to be an actress but she never knew how she would accomplish that. “I never thought it was going to be easy,” Panday said.

    Meanwhile, on the work front, the Khaali Peeli actress will be seen next in Puri Jagannadh’s action film Liger alongside Vijay Deverakonda, which will release in the theatres on 25 August 2022.

    Earlier this year during Gehraiyaan’s promotions, Deepika Padukone explained how Ananya does not like sharing food and further elaborated on how they (Gehraiyaan’s lead cast) tried to invite themselves for a dinner at Ananya’s house but Panday was not keen on having them over.

    When interviewer Cyrus Broacha asked Ananya why she did not want to have them over, she said, “Because my dad (Chunky Panday) is always roaming around in a towel. If you all still want to come, come.”

    Director Shakun Batra and Deepika also revealed how Ananya never shares food.

    Shakun and Cocktail diva recalled an incident when she didn’t share her keema pao with others but gave a few peas from the dish to Shakun.

    While talking about the incident, Deepika told Cyrus Broacha on his show Cyrus Says on YouTube, “She doesn’t share her food.” Shakun further revealed how Ananya only shared some matar (peas) from the keema pao she was eating. Deepika then says, “At least you got that.” 

    Kheema Pav Recipe | Indian Style Minced Meat/Mutton Keema | The Bombay Chef – Varun Inamdar - YouTube

    Deepika added, “We invited ourselves to Ananya’s house because she said that she is having keema pao for dinner. We said thanks for inviting us and she was like ‘Yes if you guys wanna come, please come but there isn’t enough pao for you all.’” She further said, “We then waited 40 minutes for our food that we ordered but she kept eating hers and didn’t share.” Ananya then points at Shakun and says, “I gave him 2-3 matar (peas).”

    Director Shakun Batra joined the conversation right after and pointed out how bizarre the reason was. “I can already imagine so many memes being made on that.”, he said.

  • ‘Ethnic cleansing’: Naseeruddin Shah asks Modi govt to stop genocide of Muslims

    ‘Ethnic cleansing’: Naseeruddin Shah asks Modi govt to stop genocide of Muslims

    Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has asked the Modi government to stop genocide of Muslims and warned that oppression could lead to civil war.

    In an interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Shah said if attempts are made for Muslim genocide and ethnic cleansing, India’s 200 million Muslims are going to fight back.

    He said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not care but ethnic cleansing of Muslims will trigger a civil war in India.

    While talking about the Mughals in India, he said that they “contributed” in the country and “came here to make this their homeland”.

    “The so-called atrocities of the Mughals are being highlighted all the time. We forget that the Mughals are people who have contributed to the country. They are people who have left lasting monuments in the country…who have left the tradition of dancing, music, painting, literature. Mughals came here to make this their homeland. You can call them refugees if you like,” he said.

    Shah, after this statement, earned a lot of backlash from the Indian social media, especially Indian Twitter. In a clip circulating on social media, the actor is seen talking during Thapar’s show on his YouTube channel. However, the clip omitted a few lines he said about the real marauders.

    These lines from the original video were omitted in the clip: “No one talks about Taimur, no one talks about Mahmud of Ghazni, no one talks about Nadir Shah. I don’t think these people are conversant with that history. Those were the marauders who came, looted and left.”

    https://twitter.com/MeghBulletin/status/1476082232586477572?s=20

    The clip is being circulated widely in India and has made ‘Mughals’ trend on Indian Twitter.

  • Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has criticised “sections of Indian Muslims celebrating the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan”, and called it rather dangerous.

    In a recent video, the Mohra actor drew distinctions between ‘Hindustani Islam’ and what is practised in other parts of the world.

    “Even as the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, celebrations of the barbarians by some sections of Indian Muslims is no less dangerous,” Shah said in a video shared on social media.

    A Wednesday actor went on to say that those who are celebrating the revival of Taliban, should question themselves, “if they want a reformed, modern Islam (jiddat pasandi modernity), or live with the old barbarism (vaishipan) of the past few centuries.”

    Shah also differentiated between what he called “Hindustani Islam” and what is actually practised in other parts of the world.

    He added, “May God not bring a time when it changes so much that we cannot even recognise it. He mentioned his own personal relationship with God, and that he doesn’t need political religion. “I am an Indian Muslim and as Mirza Ghalib said years ago, my relationship with God is informal. I don’t need political religion,” he said.

    Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on August 15 after seizing control from government forces across the country.

  • Ten Indian actors who worked in Pakistani films

    Ten Indian actors who worked in Pakistani films

    India and Pakistan have shared tumultuous equations over the years with things often getting out of hands in terms of politics and border feuds. However, the two neighbouring nations have indulged in a cultural exchange at several junctions and that does help the artists of both the nations to bridge the gap between Indo-Pak.

    Here’s a list of Indian actors who have done work in Lollywood, the Pakistani film industry:

    Om Puri

    The late actor has done a film in Pakistan. He was seen in Actor in Law. His appearance in Pakistani film garnered him critical acclaim from local critics. He was an ambassador of peace.

    Arbaaz Khan

    Godfather is a Pakistani Urdu film directed by Hriday Shetty released across theaters in Pakistan in 2007. The cast had both Indian and Pakistani actors, including Arbaaz Khan in a pivotal role.

    Naseeruddin Shah

    Legendary actor has done Khuda Ke Liye in 2007 and another film in 2013, Zinda Bhaag.

    Neha Dhupia

    The popular model turned actress Neha Dhupia did an item song in the Lollywood film Kabhi Pyaar Na Karna.

    Shweta Tiwari

    The Kasautii Zindagi Kay star, shweta Tiwari has done a Pakistani film. She was casted in the film Sultanat that flopped.

    Kirron Kher

    Kirron Kher did a film called Kamosh Pani in 2003 which won several international awards.

    Amrita Arora

    In an Indo-Pak collaboration Amrita was seen in the film Godfather, a remake of the famous Hollywood film.

    Vinod Khanna

    Veteran Indian actor Vinod Khanna appeared for the first time on the Pakistani cinema screen in Godfather. The film was distributed nationwide by ARY Digital.

    Johnny Lever

    The popular Indian comedian, Johny Lever has done a Pakistani film Love Mein Ghum

    Arya Babbar

    Son of Raj Babbar, Arya has also worked in a Pakistani film Virsa opposite Mehreen Raheel.