Naseeruddin Shah slams Kangana as ‘half-educated starlet’

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has called Kangana Ranaut a “half-educated starlet” when quizzed about the actress.

Naseeruddin was asked about Kangana and her fight to seek justice in the Sushant Singh Rajput case when he made the comments.

Sushant’s death has triggered many conversations around nepotism and favouritism in Bollywood.

The actor’s body was found on June 14, 2020, having taken his own life, causing shockwaves.

His death has also led to the conspiracy theory that there is a ‘movie mafia’, however, in an interview, Naseeruddin denied that there was such a thing.

When asked about the probe in Sushant’s case, the politics involved and the media coverage, Naseeruddin controversially said that the people who have “frustration” in their mind towards the industry are “vomiting it out to the press”.

He said: “It’s sickening. It is absolutely sickening. I have not followed it.

“I felt deeply grieved when the young man died. I did not know him but he had a bright future and it was a waste of a life.

“But I did not bother to follow the nonsense that’s being spouted by a whole lot of people.

“Every person who has any little frustration in his mind, in his heart, about the commercial industry, has been vomiting it out to the press.

“It is absolutely disgusting. I mean, keep these complaints to yourself, no one is interested.”

His statement led to a wave of criticism on social media, with netizens slamming the actor.

Many said that they had lost their respect for him while others called him “uneducated” and “narrow-minded”.

Naseeruddin then turned his attention to Kangana, who has been vocal in seeking justice for Sushant.

When asked about the outspoken actress and what she has been doing, Naseeruddin replied:

“No one is interested in the opinions of some half-educated starlet who decides to take it upon herself to you know, get justice for Sushant.”

“If there is justice that needs to be done, I think we need to have faith in the process of the law and if it is none of our business I think we should we should not concern ourselves with it.”

The comment eventually caught the attention of Kangana who responded, questioning if he would make those comments if she was a star kid.

“Thank you, Naseer Ji, you weighed all my awards and achievements which non of my contemporaries have on the scale of nepotism, I am used to this but would you say this to me if I were Parkash Padukone/Anil Kapoor’s daughter?”

Thank you Naseer ji, you weighed all my awards and achievements which non of my contemporaries have on the scale of nepotism,I am used to this but would you say this to me if I were Parkash Padukone/Anil Kapoor’s daughter ? ? https://t.co/yA59q7Lwbf

— Kangana Ranaut (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KanganaTeam) August 18, 2020

The actress went on to share an old interaction with Naseeruddin Shah where he had praised her.

“Naseer Ji is a great artist, itne mahan kalakar ki toh gaaliyaan bhi bhagwan ke parshad ki tareh hain, I rather watch amazing conversation we had about cinema and our craft last year and you told me how much you appreciate me…”

Social media has sided with Kangana, with some saying that people like Naseeruddin has a problem with her because she is not afraid to take them on.