Javed Akhtar Responded Calmly To Bushra Ansari’s Remark, He Slams Pak Actor On Rent Row

Mumbai : Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has delivered a scathing response to Pakistani actor Bushra Ansari’s claim that “no one in Mumbai rents homes to Muslims.” “Who is she to tell me when to talk and when not to? She said Naseeruddin Shah stays quiet, so I should too. But who is she to decide when I should speak? Who gave her that right?,” he asked. He further said, “Yes, we Indians do have our internal issues. But when someone from outside points fingers, I am first and foremost an Indian. I won’t stay silent,” he said in an interview to media.

Responding to the claim that she couldn’t find a house in Mumbai, Akhtar laughed and said sarcastically, “Yes, of course! Shabana and I are sleeping on the streets now.” However, Akhtar shared a historical lesson which explained why it is difficult for Muslims to find a rental house in India. Recalling an incident from 25 years ago, Akhtar said he and his wife Shabana Azmi were denied a house because they were Muslims.

“Shabana, for investments sake, wanted to buy a flat in a building. They did not give it to her. They point-blank told the broker that they are Muslims, so they won’t give the flat. It’s another matter that they counted a person like Shabana to be a Muslim. But, that’s another thing altogether. But, it is true that they didn’t give the flat to Shabana,” he explained.

Continuing further, he said, “But, you have to look who were these people were. These were the people whose mother, father used to live in Sindh, Pakistan’s Punjab area. Their land, property, social standing, livelihood, You snatched it all away from them. You kicked them out and they came here like a refugee.”

He talked about the post-Partition era where Sindhi Hindus who fled Pakistan had to start their lives with nothing in hand. “These poor Sindhis used to sell clothes on the streets, sell chhole. Through their hard work, they built a position for themselves in this society. But what happened to them before that? The bitterness still lives within them. And that bitterness comes out at us. So, who is responsible for this bitterness? (he points at himself and at the screen referring to the Pakistani actor),” he said.

Akhtar said people who are deeply affected by such deep wounds would react this way. “Anyone with a wound that big and deep, will react the way the owner reacted. If he didn’t give up that house, it was because of you, because you threw him out,” he said.

The lyricist had a perfect rebuttal for the Pakistani actor: “You are telling us that they didn’t you the house? If they didn’t give you the house, it is because of you. You kicked them out of their homes in Sindh. They don’t have any idea about what the actual problem is. They have overcome this. But, I asked myself that I now live in Bombay. I came here when I was 19, a non-Maharastrian. Things worked out for me. Imagine if someone told me, within 24 hours, pack up and leave Mumbai.”

Detailing their struggle, he further added, “Where should I go? Wherever. And from there, I leave my money, property, inheritance, my home and I leave. On the way, I find my fellow people are being killed. My status, my identity and my friends – I leave all of this behind. Ultimately, I am sent to a tent. I am a refugee where I am getting food in a plate after standing in a queue. How will I feel at that time? The person who didn’t give me that flat, this happened to them.”