New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut, who was slapped with a defamation case by lyricist Javed Akhtar in 2020, has reacted to his recent comments about the 26/11 terror attacks. Akhtar, who was in Pakistan to attend a festival organised in the memory of renowned poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, said that the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks are still roaming free in their country.
Kangana took to Twitter and praised the lyricist's comment. She shared the video of his comment and wrote, “Jab main Javed saab ki poetry sunti hoon toh lagta tha yeh kaise Maa Swarsati 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 @Javedakhtarjadu saab… Ghar mein ghuss ke maara .. ha ha (When I hear his poetry, I’m in awe of his wisdom. And his comments are proof).”
While addressing the audience in Pakistan, Javed Akhar was asked whether he will take back with him messages of peace, and tell Indians that Pakistanis welcomed him with love. He replied, ““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 me 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 also pointed out that though Pakistani artistes such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan have always been loved and have performed many times in India, Pakistan has never hosted a Lata Mangeshkar show.
Akhtar had filed a complaint against Kangana Ranaut in November 2020, claiming that Ranaut had made defamatory statements against him in a television interview, which allegedly damaged his reputation.
In his complaint, Akhtar claimed that Kangana dragged his name during an interview while referring to a 'coterie' existing in Bollywood, following the alleged suicide committed by actor Sushant Singh Rajput.