Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah has been in the thick of things recently. The actor didn’t appreciate Virat Kohli’s aggression during the Test match series between India and Australia and called the cricketer “world’s worst behaved player”. That’s where the trouble began.
Soon, the actor started receiving harsh criticism for his tirade against Kohli. Under such circumstances, Naseeruddin came out and said that he was scared for the lives of his children in today’s India. Along expected lines, his statement created quite the stir in mainstream media and he had to skip the Ajmer Literature Festival after various groups launched protests against him.
Then, finally, Naseeruddin featured in a video by Amnesty International, an NGO that is under investigation for alleged FCRA violations where he can be seen supporting the ‘Urban Naxals’ who were arrested in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima and an alleged assassination plot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Therefore, Naseeruddin’s opposition to Narendra Modi is quite obvious from all his actions. But, it appears that the actor is also lying blatantly to further his agenda. In an interview with India Today, when he was asked about his opinion of Narendra Modi, he said, “That is a very difficult one,” and added, “I had great faith in 2014 when he ascended to power. I won’t go so far as to say that my faith has been shaken. I still look forward to the future.”
Amusingly enough, in 2013, Naseeruddin certainly doesn’t appear to have faith when one looks at his statements and actions from that time. In fact, he sponsored an effort in 2013 which was directed to ‘expose’ Narendra Modi.
Naseeruddin can appear very convincing when he is speaking but that has more to do with his skills as an actor, it’s his job to appear convincing. The internet, however, has a long memory and never forgets a thing.
It has become a general theme for actors to say outlandish things and scream ‘no space for dissent’ whenever people criticize their statements. It appears that snowflakes in Bollywood do not understand how Freedom of Expression works. If they have the right to voice their ‘dissent’, then others have the right voice their own dissent against the ‘dissent’ by celebrities. However, celebrities appear to be under the impression that they are beyond ridicule and criticism merely because they’re celebrities.
