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Amid the ongoing controversy on Diljit Dosanjh’s latest film Sardaar Ji 3, actor Naseeruddin Shah on Monday shared a strong post supporting the Punjabi singer-actor. He criticised political parties for attacking the singer and questioned the selective hatred towards the actor. However, the veteran actor now seems to have deleted the post due to severe backlash.
Soon after deleting the post, Naseeruddin Shah shared a cryptic note that read: “It is almost impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd without singeing somebody’s beard — Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher (1 Jul 1742-1799).”
Naseeruddin Shah’s cryptic post attracted many users who flooded his comment section with their opinion. While some took his side, others criticised him for “always talking against the country”.
A user commented, “Point to be noted. You are free to speak like that. It is a free country, you are a part of it. You have influence, it’s your right and responsibility to support whatever you see right. But, what others are doing is also their rights.” Another user commented, “It is very hard. The truth does not always win only the crowd and power wins unfortunately.”
Meanwhile, others criticised him and wrote, “Naseeruddin Shah if carrying the ‘torch of truth’ means spreading selective outrage, playing the victim, and deleting posts when caught, maybe it is time to leave the torch… and the timeline.”
The user added, “Social media might not be the best stage for dramatic monologues wrapped in communal bias and convenient amnesia. Perhaps some wisdom is better kept offline, where fewer people can fact check it.”
On Monday, the actor took to his Facebook account to support Diljit against the hatred. He wrote, I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of Jumla Party has been awaiting a chance to attack him. They think they’ve got it at last. He was not responsible for the casting of the film, the director was. But no one knows who he is whereas Diljit is known the world over, and he agreed to the cast because his mind is not poisoned.”
He added, “What these goons want is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan. I have close relatives and some dear friends there and no one can stop me from meeting them or sending them love whenever i feel like it. And my response to those who will say “Go to Pakistan” is “GO TO KAILASA”.”
Diljit Dosanjh has been a target of severe backlash ever since he decided to go ahead with the release of his film Sardaar Ji 3, starring Pakistani actress Hania Aamir. Pakistani actors and content have been banned in India after the Pahalgam attack. The backlash took a serious turn when he shared another video teasing a song from the film featuring the actress. This didn’t go down well with the actor-singer’s fans in India, who questioned his casting choice.
Despite the makers decided to release it overseas and skip it in India, several film bodies including AICWA criticised his move and wrote letters to the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Broadcast and communications Minister of India. They even wrote a letter to the makers of Border 2 to reconsider their casting of Diljit Dosanjh in the film.
In his defence, Diljit Dosanjh told BBC Asia Network, “I had signed the film back in February, way before the attack. The producers have invested a lot of money. If they decided to release it overseas, I will have to support them.”
Diljit Dosanjh is also a co-producer of the film.
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