Javed Akhtar, recently made waves on the internet when he talked about 26/11 in Pakistan and mentioned how India hasn’t forgotten or forgiven their country for being a part of the brutal attacks in Mumbai. It happened during the Faiz Festival in Lahore, Pakistan. While Kangana who is often seen at loggerheads with Javed, praised him for his words, it seems like the lyricist wasn't really interested in her reaction as he refused to address it. He said 'Kangana is not an important person'.
When asked about Kangana's comment, Javed Akhtar, during a conversation with NDTV, said "I don't consider Kangana important so how can she make an important remark. Forget about her. Chaliye aage (Let's move forward)".
His reaction came a day after the Kangana Ranaut shared Javed Akhtar's video from the event in Pakistan and tweeted: "Jab main Javed saab ki poetry sunti hoon toh lagta tha yeh kaise Saraswati ji ki in pe itni kripa hai, lekin dekho kuch toh sachchai hoti hai insaan mein tabhi toh khudai hoti hai unke saath mein. Jai Hind. Ghar mein ghuss ke maara.. ha ha. (Whenever I listen to Javed Saab’s poetry I feel like Goddess Saraswati has indeed blessed him, but see there must be some truth within a person that is why divinity resides within him. Jai Hind. He made them listen to the truth in their own land)."
Javed Akhtar's 26/11 statement
At the event in Pakistan, Javed had said, "Let us not blame each other. That won’t solve issues. Jo garam hai fiza, woh kam honi chahiye. Hum toh Bambaiye log hain. Hamne dekha wahan kaise hamla hua tha. Wo log Norway se toh nahi aaye the naa Egypt se aaye the, wo log abhi bhi aapke mulk me ghum rahe hain. Toh ye shikayat agar Hindustani ke dil mein ho toh aapko bura nahi manna chahiye (The atmosphere needs to cool down. I am from Bombay and all of us witnessed the attack on Bombay. The attackers weren’t from Norway, or from Egypt. They are still present in your country, so you should not be offended if an Indian complains about this)."
He added that while India has hosted several Pakistani artists in the past, Pakistan has never hosted singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Akhtar also questioned the Pakistani gathering about not opening their hearts to the Indian artistes. He said, "When Faiz Sahab visited, he was received like a very important visitor. It was broadcast all over. We hosted big functions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan. You (Pakistan) never organised a function for Lata Mangeshkar?" The poet attracted claps and cheers from the gathering.
Kangana and Javed's relationship
Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar have always been at loggerheads. In 2023, the lyricist had slapped the actress with a defamation case and had claimed that she had dragged his name into a television interview about the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and said that he was a member of a Bollywood ‘coterie’. In response, Kangana had also issued counter-complaint in the court against him for alleged ‘extortion and criminal intimidation'.
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