Actor Sushant Singh has announced that he will be stepping down as host of popular television show Saavdhan India. The crime drama premiered in 2012 on Life OK and currently airs on Star Bharat.
“And my stint with Savdhaan India has ended,” the actor tweeted early morning on 17 December.
Singh, who has featured in films such as Ambedkar and The Legend of Bhagat Singh, is one of the few members of the Indian film industry who has been vocal about the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed in Parliament on 11 December. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sushant said that he found out that his contract had been terminated on Monday night. He claimed he “wasn’t given a particular reason” and that he didn’t want to “speculate”.
While there has been no official statement from the producers, fans have speculated whether his anti-CAA comments were a reason for Sushant Singh’s sudden departure from the show. When asked if his termination was “the price you pay for speaking the truth,” the actor responded with, “A very small price my friend. Otherwise how will I be able to answer Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru?”
Singh’s comment was a reference to Indian revolutionary Sukhdev Thapar, whom he played in The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Thapar was an associate of Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru, who assassinated Deputy Superintendent of Police, JP Saunders in 1928 in response to the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
He said that it was possible that his dismissal from the show on the same day he was seen at an anti-CAA protest in Mumbai was a “coincidence”. When asked about his tweet, he told the publication, “I feel if it was indeed a repercussion to my action, then it is a very small price that I could pay. I am shaken by whatever is happening and do not regret my actions.”
Sushant Singh has been sharing tweets detailing the anti-CAA protests that have been raging across India, as well as those condemning the violent police action that was unleashed against students of Jamia Millia Islamia university on Sunday, 15 December. He was also spotted at a protest at Mumbai University on 16 December to express solidarity with those who stood against the CAA.
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