Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah recently opened up about a disappointing incident when he was `disinvited` from a Mumbai University event. The actor claimed that the move was linked to his political views. Naseeruddin Shah shared that he was initially invited to attend Jashn-e-Urdu, an event organised by the Urdu Department of Mumbai University on February 1. However, he was later informed that his participation was no longer required.
Naseeruddin Shah claims being `disinvited` from an event
Naseeruddin claimed that the university did not provide any official explanation for withdrawing the invitation. He went on to claim that the organisers publicly informed that he himself had declined to attend the programme, which he disputed. Shah stated that the decision appeared abrupt, leaving him disappointed, especially given the cultural and literary nature of the event.
In an Op-Ed of a leading newspaper, he highlighted his 40-year-long association with teaching and mentoring aspiring actors. He also revealed that the university uninvited him on the night of January 31, after informing him that his attendance was not needed the next morning.
Linking the incident with his political views, Shah noted that the university has not offered any apology or explanation for uninviting him. The actor also alleged that the senior university official reportedly said that he ‘openly makes statements against the country.` Naseeruddin challenged the official to produce ‘one single statement’ made against the country.
Naseeruddin Shah`s political stance
Elaborating on his political stance being a reason behind this, in the op-ed, the actor made remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and referred to him as the “self-proclaimed Vishwaguru.” He said he has been critical of the Prime Minister’s conduct and leadership style over the years, adding that Modi’s “narcissism” offends him and that he has not been impressed by “a single thing” the PM has done in the last decade.
“I have often been critical and continue to be so of many things the ruling dispensation does. I have often lamented the lack of civic sense and consideration for others in our country. I have been vocal about several other issues because these are things that trouble people like me about the direction in which we seem to be headed, where student activists are held for years without trial but convicted rapists/murderers are frequently granted bail, where cow vigilantes have a free hand to maim and kill, where history is being rewritten and the content of textbooks revised, where even science is being fiddled with, where a Chief Minister, no less, talks of harassing the `Miyas`. Just how long can this hatred be sustained?” he wrote in the op-ed.
It further read, “This is not the country I grew up in and was taught to love. The `thought police` and `doublespeak` have been deployed in full force, as has surveillance. The `two minutes of hate` have turned into 24 hours of hate.”
