The long-running tension between veterans Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah resurfaced after Kher revisited the episode that sparked their public fallout in 2020. Their disagreement began when Shah criticised Kher for his pro-government stance during the controversy surrounding Deepika Padukone’s visit to JNU.
‘He sometimes has loose talk about me’
Now, in a fresh conversation with Samdish Bhatia, Kher said he still holds respect for Shah despite their uneasy relationship.“I still feel that I have a great respect for him. I think he sometimes has a loose talk conversation about me. When we met, he was saying sorry. Naseer told me to hug him because I always hug him.”Kher added that he has admired Shah for years, “I like him a lot… we have come to the movies after seeing him. There is no bigger star in parallel cinema than him, no one.”However, he hinted at deeper emotional undercurrents, “I think sometimes he just says things just like that… I think there is some kind of bitterness or what. Sometimes I become the victim, sometimes Dilip sir becomes the victim, sometimes Rajesh Khanna becomes the victim.”
What Naseeruddin Shah had said in 2020
Back in 2020, speaking to The Wire, Shah had praised Deepika for taking “a step like this” despite being “in the top firmament,” adding, “She’ll lose a few endorsements, sure… The only god that film industry worships is money.”While commenting on Kher, Shah said, “Someone like Anupam Kher has been very vocal. I don’t think he needs to be taken seriously. He’s a clown… It’s in his blood, he can’t help it.”
Anupam Kher’s sharp rebuttal
Kher had responded through a video on his Twitter account, saying, “I never bad-mouthed you, or said anything rude to you. But now I would like to say that you have spent your entire life, despite all the success, in frustration.”He added, “If you can criticise Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan, and Virat Kohli, then I am sure I am in great company.”Taking a direct swipe, Kher continued, “None of these people took your statements seriously… this is not you talking but all the substances you’ve consumed for years. They’ve clouded your judgement… If saying bad things about me gets you headlines for a couple of days, then this is my gift to you.”The two last worked together in Neeraj Pandey’s 2018 film Aiyaary.
