Open Hate In Society Is Disturbing, Says Naseeruddin Shah

Actor Naseeruddin Shah on Saturday said he stands by his remarks on mob violence incidents and is disturbed by "open hate" in the society. Last year, the 69-year-old veteran, referring to the recent spate of mob violence incidents, had said that at many places the death of a cow is being given more importance than the killing of a policeman.

Shah, who was in conversation with actor Anand Tiwari at the India Film Project, was responding to a question about whether his views about political and social issues has adversely affected his ties with film fraternity.

"I never had any close relationship with the film industry and fraternity in any case. I don't know whether it has affected my standing or not because I don't often get offered work very much. What I felt I said and I stand by it.

"I faced a lot of abuse by people, who have nothing better to do, but it doesn't affect me at all. What is disturbing is the open hate," the actor said.

Recently, the actor was among the over 180 members of the cultural community, that also included cinematographer Anand Pradhan, historian Romila Thapar and activist Harsh Mander, who condemned the FIR lodged against 49 celebrities for an open letter they wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Last week, an FIR was filed in Bihar's Muzaffarpur against personalities, including directors Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and writer-columnist Ramchandra Guha for alleged sedition over a letter they wrote to the PM in July, voicing concern over growing incidents of mob lynching.

The Bihar police has ordered closure of the case and decided to prosecute the complainant for levelling "false" allegations, a top police official said.