Source The Hindu
NEW DELHI — A fierce, multi-year-old verbal war between two of Bollywood’s most celebrated veterans, Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah, has taken social media by storm once again. A dramatic exchange originally dating back to 2020 has aggressively resurfaced, trending across multiple digital platforms and dividing fans into opposing ideological camps.
The digital revival was sparked by recent public comments made by Anupam Kher regarding the reported theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple. During a television interview, Kher downplayed the incident, characterizing it as a “very small issue” when contextualized against the massive historical scale of temple plunderings and destruction during the Mughal era. His perspective quickly polarized online audiences, prompting critics to dig up a notorious, blistering clip of Naseeruddin Shah giving a critique of Kher’s political stances.
The ‘Clown’ Provocation
In the original 2020 footage, Shah was asked about members of the film industry who vocally align themselves with the ruling government’s policies. Singling out Kher, Shah pulled no punches:
“Someone like Anupam Kher is very vocal. I don’t think he needs to be taken seriously. He is a clown. Any number of his contemporaries from NSD [National School of Drama] and FTII [Film and Television Institute of India] can attest to his sycophantic nature. It’s in his blood. He can’t help it.”
The Cold Retort: ‘Frustration and Substance Use’
As the clip went viral afresh, so did Kher’s equally sharp, video-taped rebuttal. In the counter-message, Kher expressed that while he historically respected Shah’s artistry, the personal attack crossed a line.
Kher pointed out that Shah had developed a habitual pattern of disparaging iconic national figures, noting that if he was being targeted, he was at least in legendary company.
“You have spent your entire life in frustration, despite achieving so much,” Kher fired back in the video. “If you can criticise Dilip Kumar sahab, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan, and Virat Kohli, then I’m sure I’m in great company.”
Kher then took the confrontation a step further, directly attributing Shah’s sharp tongue to long-term substance use:
“None of them has ever taken your statements seriously, as we all know that due to the substances you have been taking all these years, you don’t realise the difference between what is right and what is wrong.”
Kher signed off the video by stating that if bad-mouthing him gifted Shah a few days of media headlines, he was happy to let him have it, concluding with the assertion, “Hindustan runs in my blood.”
A Complex History
The public fallout remains particularly jarring for cinephiles, given that the two industry titans have historically shared the screen to deliver masterclasses in acting—most notably in Neeraj Pandey’s critically acclaimed 2008 thriller A Wednesday, where they played diametrically opposed characters locked in a high-stakes psychological battle.
While Kher later revealed in a podcast that the two managed to share a civil hug years later at a mutual acquaintance’s funeral, their deep-seated ideological rift continues to be a volatile flashpoint for broader cultural and political debates online.
For a deeper look into the original video exchange and how the drama unfolded when it first broke out, you can watch the Anupam Kher Responds To Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘Clown’ Jibe on ABP News, which outlines the specific points of contention raised by both actors during the height of the controversy.
