Actor Anupam Kher hit back at Naseeruddin Shah for criticising him.
Highlights
- Swaraj Kaushal slammed Naseeruddin Shah for attacking Anupam Kher
- Naseeruddin Shah called Mr Kher a "clown" in a recent interview
- "This country gave you all": Mr Kaushal called Mr Shah "ungrateful"
Swaraj Kaushal, former Mizoram Governor and husband of BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj, slammed actor Naseeruddin Shah for attacking actor Anupam Kher and calling him a "clown".
"This country gave you all the name, fame and money. Yet you are a disillusioned man. You married outside your religion. No one ever said a word. Your brother became Lt. General of the Indian Army. Have you not been given more than an equal opportunity. Yet you are unhappy," Mr Kaushal said in a series on tweets.
In a recent interview to The Wire, Naseeruddin Shah, while discussing the current situation in the country in the backdrop of the protests against the controversial citizenship law and the lists, spoke of the support the government was receiving from the film industry.
As an example, he cited Anupam Kher.
"Someone like Anupam Kher has been very vocal. I don't think he needs to be taken seriously. He is a clown. Any number of his contemporaries from NSD and FTII can testify to his sycophantic nature. It is in his blood. He can't help it," Mr Shah said.
Swaraj Kaushal defended Anupam Kher, saying he has known him for 47 years.
"What is it that you have and Anupam Kher does not have? You think you are a better actor than Anupam Kher? You are sadly mistaken," Mr Kaushal said in a series on tweets.
Anupam Kher on Wednesday accused Naseeruddin Shah, 69, of criticising a number of celebrities and claimed that he considered himself "in very good company".
"If you could criticise Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan or Virat Kohli, then I'm sure I'm in great company. And none of them has taken your statements seriously. Because we all know this is not you speaking. The substances you have been consuming for years have taken away your sense of judging what is right and what is not," Anupam Kher said in a video statement he tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
Massive protests have been held over the past few weeks against the Citizenship Amendment Act - which the government says will help minorities from Muslim-dominated Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015. Critics say they fear the law discriminates against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.