Javed Akhtar, a seasoned lyricist and writer, has responded to Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari’s criticism, which was made weeks ago. Javed Akhtar responded to her remarks, particularly the assertion that he doesn’t even rent a property in Mumbai, in a recent interview with Lallantop.
“There is this Pakistani actress, Bushra Ansari, she often talks about me. She once advised me to keep quiet. She said something like, ‘Naseeruddin Shah stays quiet, you should too.’ My question to her is: ‘Who is she to tell me when to talk and when not to? Who gave you this right, and why do you expect me to take your advice?” Akhtar said.
He added, “We internally might have several problems (referring to India), but if an outsider comes to comment, I am an Indian. Why do they forget that? I won’t keep quiet.”
Akhtar reacted cynically when the interviewer brought up Bushra Ansari’s remark that he was unable to rent a property. “Yes, Shabana and I have been spending a lot of time sleeping on the streets. He laughed as he asked, “Kya yaar, ab kya bole?”
Javed Akhtar also recalled an old incident that may have led to such claims. He said, “About 25 years ago, Shabana wanted to buy a flat for investment purposes. However, the broker said that the owner would not sell his house to a Muslim. But do you know why he refused? He refused it because his parents stayed in Sindh, from where these Pakistanis shooed them away. Anyone with a wound that big and deep will react in the same way the owner did. If that day, Shabana was refused a flat, it was not because she was a Muslim, but it was because the owner was displacing his revenge someplace else for what his parents went through. So, who is she (Bushra Ansari) to take a dig at this and ask me to keep quiet? They must look into their doings before commenting.”
The conversation is related to an earlier event in April when it was reported that a terrorist organization had killed 26 tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam.
Akhtar responded to the Gauravshaali Maharashtra Mahotsav tragedy by saying, “Yeh mamooli baat nahi hai, yeh baat humein bhulni nahi chahiye. (We shouldn’t forget this).”
Bushra Ansari attacked Akhtar on social media after his speech, stating, “Humare writer so-called, unko toh bahana hi chahiye tha.” Actually, unko toh makaan kiraaye pe nahi milta tha Bombay mein (A Mumbai apartment was even denied to our so-called writer). “Chaloji chup karjaaye aap,” she added. Toh hai, Naseeruddin Shah, who chup baithe hai na? Isn’t that chup baithe, huh? Which one is rakkha rahe? Jiske dil mein jo hai. (Please, like Naseeruddin Shah, keep quiet. Everyone else is silent, so stay calm as well.
In response to Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari’s comments, Javed Akhtar said he was unable to find a place to rent in Mumbai and advised her to keep quiet. Akhtar clarified a previous instance of housing discrimination stemming from partition trauma and questioned her right to comment on him.
