In strong comments after the recent hostilities between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar has said that if his only two choices are between going to hell and the neighbouring country, he would choose hell.
Speaking at a book launch event in Mumbai on Saturday, Javed Akhtar said he gets a lot of praise, but abuses and brickbats as well from "extremists" on "both sides" - without elaborating on what the two sides are.
"What happens is that if you speak only on behalf of one side, you make only one side unhappy. But if you talk on behalf of everybody, you make a lot more people unhappy. I can show you my Twitter (now X) and WhatsApp in which abuses are showered on me from both sides. A lot of people appreciate me as well, praise me and help me keep my spirits up, but it is also true that extremists on both sides swear at me. This is how it should be, because if one side stops, I will start wondering what I am doing wrong," the lyricist, who was speaking in Hindi, quipped.
"One side tells me you are a 'kaafir' and you will go to 'jahannum' (hell) and the other side says you are a jihadi and should go to Pakistan. Now, if these are my only two choices, I would prefer to go to hell... I was 19 years old when I came to Mumbai and I am what I am because of the city and Maharashtra," he said
Earlier this month, Mr Akhtar had also called out Pakistan for spreading propaganda that Kashmiris are Pakistanis at heart.
"This is a lie. When Pakistan had attacked Kashmir after Independence, Kashmiris had stopped them for three days, our Army reached only after that. The truth is they can't live without India. What has happened (in Pahalgam) has hurt them the most. Tourism has taken a hit. Kashmiris are Indians and 99% of them are loyal to India," he said.
