Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who is known for his candid opinions, recently expressed his concern over the popularity of films like Gadar 2, The Kashmir Files, and Kerela Story.
In an interview with a publication, the actor labelled the popularity of such films "disturbing" and expressed his disappointment over how films that portray the truth of their times often go unnoticed.
In a conversation with The Free Press Journal, Naseeruddin said, "Now the more jingoist you are, the more popular you become, because this is what has been ruling this country. It’s not enough to love your country; but beat drums about it, and you have to create imaginary enemies. What these people don’t realise is that what they are doing is very harmful. In fact, films like Kerala Story and Gadar 2, I haven’t seen them, but I know what they are about."
The veteran further told the publication, "It’s disturbing that films like Kashmir Files are so massively popular whereas films made by Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha, and Hansal Mehta, who are trying to portray the truth of their times, don’t get seen. But it’s important that these filmmakers don’t lose heart and continue telling stories. They will be responsible for posterity. A hundred years later, people will see Bheed and they will also see Gadar 2 and see which one portrays the truth of our times, because film is the only medium which could do that. It’s hard to resort to abstraction and capture life as it is. So regressive is a pretty mild word for what’s going on. It’s frightening where filmmakers are being coopted into making films which praise all the wrong things and run down other communities for no reason at all. It’s a dangerous trend."
Meanwhile, on the work front, he recently worked on his directorial venture, Man Woman Man Woman, also starring his wife, actor Ratna Pathak Shah. The short film is currently streaming on YouTube.
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