Days after 49 renowned personalities of the media industry got together to write an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rampant lynching of Muslims, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur tweeted that he is scared of 'snake-like' intellectuals.
Kapur, who is known to be an ardent supporter of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, took to the social media platform to comment that he feels like a refugee in India even decades after the Partition.
Started life as refugee of Partition. Parents gave everything to make a life for kids. Was always in fear of ‘intellectuals’. They made me feel insignicant. Small. Then suddenly embraced me after my films. I still fear them. Their embrace is like a bite of snake. Still a refugee.— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) July 27, 2019
Irked by Kapur's comment that he is afraid of intellectuals, lyricist Javed Akhtar, who is known to be vocal about social issues and is an open critic of the government, fired a salvo of tweets at the filmmaker on Sunday, July 28.
What do you mean by still a refugee Does it mean that you feel like an outsider n not an Indian n you don’t feel that this is your motherland .If in India you are still a refugee where will you not feel like a refugee ,In Pakistan? Cut this melodrama you poor rich but lonely guy— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 28, 2019
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— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 28, 2019
You introduce yourself as neither prejudiced by the past nor afraid of the future living in this moment and in the same breath you say you are a refugee of partition and still a refugee . One doesn’t need a magnifying glass to see the contradiction .— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 28, 2019
Shortly thereafter, another group of 62 celebrities including adman Prasoon Joshi and actress Kangana Ranaut wrote an open letter in which it dissed the first letter, calling it selective and biased.
Interestingly, neither Javed Akhtar nor Shekhar Kapur was a signatory to either letter.
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