Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah, in a latest column for The Indian Express, expressed his displeasure over being ‘disinvited’ from a Mumbai University event at the last moment. The three-time national award-winning actor wrote how the university stopped him at the last moment from attending the event, which he was looking forward to attending, “because it meant interacting with students.”
The actor further shared that after informing him he needn’t attend the February 1 event on the night of January 31 without giving any reason, they decided to rub a little salt in by announcing to the audience that he had refused to be there.
Shah expressed that he had always dreamt of mentoring those younger than him. With over four decades of experience in the film industry, he is not just an actor, but an artist who tries “to participate in their growth, often without success, but never without joy.”
Towards the end of his piece, he wrote in depth how it no longer felt like the country he had grown up in or was taught to love. Shah added that “thought police,” “doublespeak,” and widespread surveillance appeared to be in full force, while the “two minutes of hate” seemed to have expanded into a constant, 24-hour cycle. The Bollywood actor questioned whether it would be too far-fetched to compare the situation to George Orwell’s 1984, where failing to praise the “great leader” is treated as sedition.
‘They decided to rub a little salt’
Explaining the incident from earlier this week, Shah shared how he was invited to ‘Jashn-e-Urdu’, an event organised by the Urdu department at Mumbai University. The event was set to take place on Saturday, February 1. However, in the late hours of January 31, the university informed him that ‘he didn’t attend’ and did not explain the same.
“The university, after informing me that I needn’t attend (on the night of January 31, and giving no reason for it, forget an apology), obviously considered this not insulting enough. So they decided to rub a little salt in by announcing to the audience that I had refused to be there,” he wrote in his account, as he was truly looking forward to attending the event.
This comes after the prestigious Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai cancelled a discussion on incarceration featuring Neeta Kolhatkar and activist Anand Teltumde, reportedly on the orders of the Mumbai Police. Teltumde’s book discussion was dropped from the roster and faced backlash online.
Facing this sudden disinvitation, Shah even challenged the university officials to “produce one single statement” of his in which he “run down” India.
‘His narcissism offends me’
In his piece, Shah expressed a sharp contrast within India and the criticism he has faced over the past decades. “Sure, I have never praised the self-proclaimed ‘Vishwaguru’. In fact, I have been critical of the way he conducts himself. His narcissism offends me, and I haven’t been impressed by a single thing he’s done in 10 years,” he wrote.
“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,” he added.
Pointing out a striking, he emphasised that India is a place where student activists can be jailed for years without trial, while those convicted of rape or murder are often granted bail; where cow vigilantes operate with impunity, maiming and killing; where history is reshaped and textbooks rewritten; and where even scientific facts are being tampered with. He ended, questioning “Just how long can this hatred be sustained?”