Updated on: Dec 21, 2025 11:30 am IST
Zakir Khan has reacted to Javed Akhtar’s old dig at comedians, where he had discouraged the use of expletives in comedy.
Comedian Zakir Khan has shared a nuanced response to veteran writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar’s old dig at comics who use swear words and cusses in their jokes. Javed Akhtar had said comics who are witty enough don’t need to use swear words in their routines. Zakir says he agrees with the veteran writer’s opinion, but one should not point fingers at individual comics.
What Javed Akhtar had said
Last year, while appearing on Sapan Verma’s show Chill Sesh, Javed Akhtar was asked his opinion on comics using gaalis (expletives). Comparing abusive language to chilli in food, Akhtar said, “If the conversation is bland, you will put some abusive language in it. Just to give it energy. In Orissa, Bihar, and Mexico—anywhere in the world where there is poverty—people eat a lot of chilli because the food is bland. So just to get some taste, they eat chilli. Abusive language is the chilli of language. If you can speak good language and if you are witty enough, you don’t need this chilli.”
Zakir Khan’s rebuttal
Now, in an interview with the Indian Express, Zakir Khan weighed in on Javed Akhtar’s opinion. “I respect Javed Akhtar a lot. I love his work. As an artist, we often admire other artists who evolve with time. He reads a lot. For the kind of language and culture he represents as a writer, his comment on comedians is valid,” he said.
However, the comedian and writer added that one cannot apply this as a rule to all comics and all performances. “But it doesn’t mean people have to mandatorily apply it. If someone has cuss words in their language, you can’t stop that. As people grow, they do learn and refrain from certain things. But you can’t be pointing a finger at someone,” he added.
About Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar began his film journey as a screenwriter as part of Salim-Javed, arguably the most successful screenwriting team in Indian cinema history. Since going solo in the 80s, he has written several films and also countless songs, apart from poems and shayari. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential Indian film writers.
