Anupam Kher on his clash with Naseeruddin Shah over politics: He said something about having it in my blood, it was important to reply

Anupam Kher recently opened up about his war of words with Naseeruddin Shah that took place in 2020 and said that he had to respond after an 'inappropriate' jibe was made by Shah on him. The veteran actor was referring to a 2020 comment that Shah had made, calling him a ‘clown’ and ‘sycophant’. This happened in the context of Deepika Padukone going to meet JNU students after which Shah had spoken in her defence.

In an interaction with Shubhankar Mishra recently, Kher said, “I have never tried to spoil my personal relationships with anyone. I have the greatest regard for Naseeruddin sir. But, when Naseeruddin sir ended up commenting something inappropriate about me, then you just can’t keep quiet. He commented something about having it in my blood, it was important for me to reply while also keeping the person’s dignity alive”

He added, “I have read the Bhagvad Gita. In that, Krishna tells Arjun, ‘None of them standing here are your family. You will have to do what is right.’ When it comes to your principles, be it anybody, you will have to speak the truth. And I am the kind of person who speaks the truth. Even after that, both of us met at our CA’s funeral, and we hugged each other. Yes, you see changes in your love for them, but we are still friends.”

In 2020, in an interview to The Wire, Shah lauded Deepika for supporting JNU students and spoke about Kher, saying, “Someone like Anupam Kher has been very vocal. I don’t think he needs to be taken seriously. He’s a clown. Any number of his contemporaries from NSD and FTII can attest to his sycophantic nature. It’s in his blood, he can’t help it.”

After this, Anupam had taken to X (Twitter then), to share his response through a video. He said, "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. 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.”

The two have starred together in films like A Wednesday (2008) and Aiyaary (2018). Anupam recently shared the screen with Ratna Pathak Shah in the 2023 web-series, Trial By Fire.