Actor Anupam Kher on Wednesday responded to his A Wednesday co-star Naseeruddin Shah’s jibe where the latter called Anupam a “clown”. Kher posted a video response on social media where he said that Naseeruddin Shah was “frustrated” and that Kher did not take his jibes seriously.
Shah recently opened up about the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in an interview with The Wire, and said his fellow actor Anupam Kher, who has been "very vocal" in his support to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its policies, is a “clown” and “sycophant”.
Shah had talked about many Bollywood stars keeping mum over the issue, and also about the student protests and actress Deepika Padukone's show of solidarity at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). “You have to laud the courage of a girl like Deepika who is in the top firmament and yet takes a step like this. Even if she has a lot to lose. Let us see how she takes it. She'll lose a few endorsements, sure. Will that impoverish her? Will that lessen her popularity? Will that make her less beautiful than she is? They're gonna come around sooner or later. The only god that film industry worships is money," he had said.
Asked if speaking against the ruling party or voicing opinion could harm actors or the film they are associated with, Shah said actors usually think only of themselves. "Otherwise there'd be more parity. But that's a story for another day," he said.
As for his A Wednesday co-star Anupam Kher, Shah said: "Someone like Anupam Kher has been very vocal. I don't think he needs to be taken seriously. He's a clown. Any number of his contemporaries from NFD and FTII can attest to his sycophantic nature. It's in his blood, he can't help it."
जनाब नसीरुदिन शाह साब के लिए मेरा प्यार भरा पैग़ाम!!! वो मुझसे बड़े है। उम्र में भी और तजुर्बे में भी। मै हमेशा से उनकी कला की इज़्ज़त करता आया हूँ और करता रहूँगा। पर कभी कभी कुछ बातों का दो टूक जवाब देना बहुत ज़रूरी होता। ये है मेरा जवाब। pic.twitter.com/M4vb8RjGjj
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) January 22, 2020
Anupam, in his response to Shah, said, "I saw the interview you gave about me. Thank you. I would like to inform you that I never take your remarks seriously. Even though I have never bad-mouthed you, but now I will say -- you have spent your entire life (even after achieving success) in frustration. If you can criticise Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Virat Kohli... then I am sure, I am in great company.”
He also insinuated that Shah’s consumption of “a substance” for many years had rendered him incapable of differentiating between right and wrong. “If criticising me gives you the publicity for 2-3 days, then I wish you this happiness. May god bless you. And do you know what is in my blood? Hindustan. Do understand this," he added.
(IANS inputs)