Pakistani Actor Claims, "Nobody Rents Javed Akhtar A House In India." He Quips, "Shabana Azmi And I Sleep On Streets"

NDTV

4 days ago

New Delhi:
Weeks after Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari criticised Javed Akhtar, the veteran lyricist and writer has responded to her remarks.
What
In a recent interview with Lallantop, Javed Akhtar addressed her comments, including the claim that he doesn't even get a house on rent in Mumbai.
"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 advise?" 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."
When the interviewer mentioned Bushra Ansari's comment about him not getting a house on rent, Akhtar responded with sarcasm. "Yes right, Shabana and I have been sleeping on the streets lately. Kya yaar, ab kya bole?" he said, laughing.
Background
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 purpose. But the broker said that the owner will 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 the way the owner reacted. 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 own doings before commenting."
The exchange stems from an earlier incident in April when news broke about the killing of 26 tourists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam by a terrorist group.
Reacting to the tragedy at the Gauravshaali Maharashtra Mahotsav, Akhtar said, "Yeh baat humein bhulni nahi chahiye, yeh mamooli baat nahi hai. (We shouldn't forget this)."
Following his speech, Bushra Ansari criticised Akhtar on social media, saying, "Humare writer so-called, unko toh bahana hi chahiye tha. Actually, unko toh makaan kiraaye pe nahi milta tha Bombay mein (Our so called writer is even refused a flat in Mumbai)." She also added, "Chaloji chup karjaaye aap. Naseeruddin Shah bhi toh hai, who chup baithe hai na? Aur bhi toh chup baithe hai na? Jiske dil mein jo hai who rakkha rahe. (Please stay quiet just like Naseeruddin Shah. Others are also quiet, you too be quiet please)."
In A Nutshell
Javed Akhtar has responded to Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari's remarks advising him to stay silent and claiming he couldn't get a house on rent in Mumbai. Akhtar questioned her right to comment on him and explained an old incident about housing discrimination rooted in partition trauma.