Nandita Das weighs in on Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher tussle: 'Not in favour of anyone trolling anyone'

Nandita Das has weighed in on the ongoing tussle between Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher, which began with Shah calling Kher a ‘clown.’ [caption id=“attachment_4352963” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Nandita Das[/caption] Speaking about the rift between the actors, who shared the screen in Neeraj Pandey’s critically acclaimed A Wednesday, Nandita Das tells India Today, “The Hindi film industry is not a homogenous industry. There are people who hold different views but I am not in favour of anyone trolling anyone. I am of Gandhian principles in that sense.” Nandita has worked with both Kher and Shah. Nandita and Anupam co-starred in Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998). Nandita’s 2009 directorial Firaaq featured Shah. Nandita had earlier spoken about the ongoing protests surrounding around the contentious  Citizenship Amendment Act  (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).  Lauding the efforts of students and common people who have been protesting against the implementation of CAA, Nandita Das said that more places like  Shaheen Bagh  are coming up across the country. “They (government) are asking those who have been living here for four generations to prove that they are Indians. This is very sad. I think everyone should speak up,” she said on the sidelines of the  Jaipur Literature Festival  (JLF). She emphasised that with the economic slowdown, growing unemployment rate, and now with the CAA and the NRC, the country has become a topic of discussion across the world as “people are being divided on the basis of religion.” Meanwhile, Naseeruddin Shah, who also spoke about the CAA in a recent interview with  The Wire, called fellow actor Anupam Kher a “clown” who should not be taken seriously. Kher has been a vocal supporter of the BJP-led central government. “Someone like Anupam Kher has been very vocal. I don’t think, he needs to be taken seriously. He is a clown and any number of his contemporaries from NSD and FTII can attest to his psychopathic nature. It is in his blood, he can’t help it,” Shah told  The Wire in the interview. Kher hit back at Shah saying that the actor is not taken seriously due to his substance use. “Though I have never said anything bad about you but now I will. You have spent your entire life in frustration, despite achieving so much. If you can criticise Dilip Kumar sahab, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan and Virat Kohli, then I’m sure I’m in great company. “None of them has ever taken your statements seriously as we all know that due to the substances you have been taking all these years, you don’t realise the difference between what is right and what is wrong,” Kher said in a video. Swaraj Kaushal, the ex-governor of Mizoram and husband of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj also criticised Naseeruddin Shah, calling him an “ungrateful man” who is “unhappy” despite being given “equal opportunities.”