MUMBAI:  Actor Naseeruddin Shah has a history of asking direct questions whenever the success of a movie has been accomplished in a different method. The actor has received criticism repeatedly for his contentious remarks about the merging of politics and film. For his opinions on the executive branch and society at large, he has occasionally even come under attack. The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, and Gadar 2 are just a few of the movies that the actor is now complaining about for making money at the box office.

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Naseeruddin Shah referred to it as risky and made the point that the film industry is following a different path to success, which is pretty alarming given that the reality is not being accurately depicted. He also spoke about the filmmakers who were attempting to make a name for themselves and present the truth but were completely ignored.

Naseeruddin Shah had a deep conversation about the issues with the current filmmaking stream with popular news portal. The actor 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.”

The actor went on to compare these movies to another generation of directors, saying, “In fact, films like Kerala Story and Gadar 2, I haven’t seen them but I know what they are about, 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.”

Even Naseeruddin Shah broke his heart when he said that these filmmakers shouldn't give up. He stated, “But it’s important that these filmmakers don’t lose heart and continue telling stories. They will be responsible for posterity. 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.”

Naseeruddin Shah highlighted backward movies like The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story, as well as Gadar 2 itself, “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.”

For the uninitiated, 'nationalistic' movies like The Kashmir Files with Anupam Kher, The Kerala Story with Adah Sharma, and Gadar 2 with Sunny Deol have all become box office successes and performed surprisingly well, demonstrating that audiences enjoyed the movies despite the controversy.

Also read: Naseeruddin Shah didn't find 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' funny while filming it

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Credits – Free Press Journal