In an interview Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah, while speaking about the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, spoke ill of a great actor Anupam Kher calling him a “clown”. Both actors Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher have achieved significant success in their own right, but recently they have exchanged hot words.
Naseeruddin Shah said, “I am not on Twitter. These people, the Twitterati, and I really wish they would make up their minds in what they believe in”.
Shah further said, criticizing 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 attest to his sycophantic nature. It’s in his blood, he can’t help it. The others who are opposing it should really decide about what they want to say and don’t remind us of our responsibilities, we know our responsibilities.”
Now, Anupam Kher took to his Twitter profile to hit back at Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘clown’ comment. He wrote, “I saw the interview given by Naseeruddin Shah where he said that I am a clown and no one should take me seriously,” “I am a sycophant and it’s in my blood, etc.”
Actor Kher shared a video on Twitter in which he is seen saying, “Thank you for praising me, I never said bad things about you, but we don’t take your comments seriously.” “You have led your life in frustration despite achieving success.” The actor further said in the video, “If you could criticize 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,”
After the ugly war of words between the two actors, many celebrities have jumped into this war. Swaraj Kaushal, former Mizoram Governor and husband of BJP veteran Sushma Swaraj, slammed actor Naseeruddin Shah for criticizing 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.
