Javed Akhtar On Being Labelled "Kaafir, Jihadi": "People From Both Sides Abuse Me"
New Delhi:
Veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar has never shied away from speaking his mind – and he did just that at a recent public event in Mumbai.
Javed Akhtar was attending the launch of Narkatla Swarg, a book by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, when he candidly addressed the criticism he frequently receives from opposing ideological camps.
Speaking about the backlash he endures, Javed Akhtar revealed, 'People from both sides abuse me. One calls me a Kaafir (infidel), saying that I will go to hell. The other calls me a Jihadi, asking me to go to Pakistan,' as quoted by News18.
Delivering his signature sharp wit, the lyricist added, 'So, If I only have a choice of going either to hell or to Pakistan, I would rather like to go to hell.'
Clarifying that the criticism directed at him isn't limited to one ideological group, Javed Akhtar said, 'People from both sides abuse me. It's not one-sided. I would be very ungrateful if I don't admit that there are people who also appreciate me. Many support me, praise me, and encourage me.'
However, he admitted that abuse from extremists has become a constant in his life. 'But this is also true that the extremists from this side abuse me so do the extremists from the other side. This is the reality. If even one of them stops abusing me, I will call it an anomaly and think that I must have made a mistake,' he remarked.
Javed Akhtar's statement comes in the aftermath of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. On April 22, a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, took 26 lives. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting targeted missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan.
Following a series of cross-border drone and missile strikes from both sides, a ceasefire was announced on May 10. However, Pakistan has reportedly violated the ceasefire multiple times, prompting retaliatory action by the Indian Armed Forces. As per reports, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of New Delhi and Islamabad are expected to hold talks soon.
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