When veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah’s Facebook post backing Diljit Dosanjh suddenly disappeared, the internet did what it does best jumped to conclusions. Many assumed he’d quietly deleted it, bowing under pressure. But Shah, never one to bend to noise, clarified: the post wasn’t deleted it was taken down. By Facebook.
In a sharply reflective column, Naseeruddin Shah cut through the speculation: “If this is taken to be a justification of my Facebook post which was taken down, not deleted by me the fact is, I need to justify nothing.” There it was clear, unwavering, and firmly rooted in principle.
This wasn’t a man retreating from his words; this was a man doubling down on them.
Naseeruddin Shah questions Bollywood’s silence after his support for Diljit Dosanjh
Naseeruddin Shah admitted he expected little in terms of solidarity from the film fraternity. Their silence, he said, didn’t surprise him. Some disagree. Others understandably have “too much to lose.” The cost of dissent in today’s climate is no small thing.
In the now removed post, he had thrown his weight behind Diljit Dosanjh, who was being targeted for the inclusion of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3. Shah reminded critics of a basic truth: actors don’t cast films—directors do. And Diljit, he added, had merely shown an open, unprejudiced mind.
Diljit Dosanjh’s integrity defended as Naseeruddin Shah fires back with poetry and principle
But Naseeruddin Shah’s concern stretched beyond the film set. He condemned the growing hostility between India and Pakistan on a human level the kind that doesn’t play out in headlines, but in quiet friendships, strained family ties, and fading memories of shared culture. “What these goons want,” he wrote, “is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan.”
And when the trolls came as they always do one told him: “Pakistan nahin ab kabristaan.” Naseeruddin Shah’s response wasn’t outrage, but poetry. “Don’t threaten me in anger; let the lightning strike a thousand times my home is this simple nest, and I have nothing more to lose.”
No theatrics. No apologies. Just conviction. He said what he said and he meant every word.
