Naseeruddin Shah claims Mumbai University disinvited him to Jashn-e-Urdu event, alleges false narrative was told to students

Naseeruddin Shah claims Mumbai University disinvited him to Jashn-e-Urdu event, alleges false narrative was told to students

• Naseeruddin Shah disinvited from Mumbai University event without explanation.
• Shah alleges the university falsely claimed he refused to attend the event
• He suggests political discomfort may be the reason for his disinvitation

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Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has revealed an ncident involving Mumbai University, where he was disinvited from an official event at the very last minute without any explanation or apology.

The noted actor shared the episode in a strongly worded opinion piece published in The Indian Express, calling the experience both insulting and disappointing.

Naseeruddin Shah wrote that he had been invited to attend Jashn-e-Urdu, an event organised by the Urdu department of Mumbai University on February 1. The occasion held special significance for him, not because of prestige or protocol, but because it offered a chance to interact with students. According to Naseeruddin Shah, that anticipation was abruptly shattered when he was informed late on the night of January 31 that he need not attend the event anymore.

Describing the manner in which the decision was communicated, Naseeruddin Shah wrote, “The Jashn-e-Urdu organised by the Urdu department of Mumbai University for February 1, from which I was disinvited at the last moment, was an event I was greatly looking forward to because it meant interacting with students. The university, after informing me that I needn’t attend (on the night of January 31, and giving no reason for it, forget an apology), obviously considered this not insulting enough.”

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What followed, according to the actor, was even more disturbing. Naseeruddin Shah claimed that the organisers went a step further by misrepresenting the situation to the audience. He stated that the university announced at the event that he had refused to attend, a claim he strongly denied. “So they decided to rub a little salt in by announcing to the audience that I had refused to be there,” he wrote.

In his piece, Naseeruddin Shah suggested that the real reason behind his disinvitation was political discomfort. He alleged that a senior university official reportedly claimed that Naseeruddin Shah “openly makes statements against the country.”

Challenging this accusation head-on, Naseeruddin Shah wrote, “If he’s not merely toeing the line and actually believes that statement, I hereby challenge the gentleman in question to produce one single statement of mine in which I run down my country.”

Also Read: Manoj Bajpayee finally breaks silence on Ghooskhor Pandat controversy: "Film is about one man’s journey, not a statement about any community"

On the professional front, Naseeruddin Shah was recently seen in IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, which also starred Vijay Varma, Pankaj Kapur, Patralekhaa, Aravind Swamy, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Dia Mirza, and Amrita Puri. The series is currently streaming on Netflix.

Widely regarded as one of India’s finest actors, Shah’s career spans decades across parallel cinema, mainstream Bollywood, theatre, and international films. With classics like Nishant, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Mirch Masala, A Wednesday!, Iqbal, and Ishqiya to his name, his contribution to Indian cinema remains both formidable and influential.