Kasuri book launch: ‘My name is Naseeruddin Shah, I am Muslim, that’s why I was targeted’

New Delhi: Actor Naseeruddin Shah says his participation at Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book launch is kicking up dust because he is a Muslim. “My name is Naseeruddin Shah and I believe that’s why I was targeted. It really pains me to say this. I have never ever been aware of my identity until now,” the celebrated actor told a news channel. “I was quite astounded that everything I stated was interpreted as being anti-Indian and there was nothing of the sort that I actually said,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_2135531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Naseeruddin Shah/ Reuters[/caption] He said there were other people also expressing their thoughts on issues but it was his views that were being presented as if he had said something against the country. “I do not actually understand why anything said as a compliment to Pakistan must be construed as anti-Indian. If I say Imran Khan is great, does that make Sunil Gavaskar any less a cricketer,” the Bollywood actor asked. Shah says that his comments were taken out of context while what others on the panel said stayed below the radar. Eminent lawyer A.G. Noorani and veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar were also at the book launch. Shah says theese men raised far more “pertinent points” but were not quoted at all. “I don’t understand why I am being picked on,” he said in the television interview. On Shiv Sena’s argument that terror and cricket or music couldn’t coexist, Shah said, “The people who sponsor terror aren’t the same who bring the message of peace from across the border.” IANS