Veteran thespian Naseeruddin Shah was in the eye of a social media hurricane after announcing his support for Diljit Dosanjh's decision to work with Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3.
This online backlash led Shah to delete his initial Facebook post, which had come to Diljit's defense for working with Aamir.
On Monday, Naseeruddin had gone on Facebook to support Diljit during the controversy over the cast of the film. The post, however, is no longer there, presumably because of the fiery response it generated.
After deleting what he had said, Shah posted a mysterious message with a quote from German philosopher Georg Christoph Lichtenberg:
It is nearly impossible to carry the torch of truth through a mob without burning someone's beard off. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher."
This new post saw followers react mixed. While some users defended Shah's freedom of speech, others were opposed to Shah's strong advocacy of Diljit's collaboration with a Pakistani artist.
Earlier this week, Shah had criticized the attacks on Diljit over Sardaar Ji 3. In his since-deleted Facebook post, he wrote:
"I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of Jumla Party has been waiting for an opportunity to attack him. They think they've got it at last. He was not on duty for the casting of the film, the director was."
But nobody knows who he is while Diljit is known worldwide, and he did agree to the cast because his mind is not poisoned. What these goons want is to stop personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan.". I have dear relatives and some close friends there and no one can prevent me from seeing them or sending them love whenever I wish. And my reply to those who will utter 'Go to Pakistan' is 'GO TO KAILASA'.
The controversy surrounding Diljit is a result of his choice to star alongside Hania Aamir in the movie, also starring Neeru Bajwa. Sardaar Ji 3 was released overseas on June 27, but it has not yet been released in India as a result of the controversy.
The calls for a boycott of Diljit and his future projects have mounted. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) have also called for a ban. Singer Mika Singh has openly declared that Diljit owes the country an apology.
This wave of condemnation comes at a time of increased tension between Pakistan and India in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's follow-up Operation Sindoor on May 7 targeting terror bases along the border.
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