Javed Akhtar recently made some remarks about the 26/11 Mumbai attacks at a festival in Pakistan. Videos of the lyricist’s comments went viral on social media. He was in Pakistan for a festival in Lahore in memory of legendary Urdu poet Ahmed Faiz.
Referring to how his comments were received by the audience, Javed told NDTV, “They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India and want to have a relationship with us. We tend to think of countries as a monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people who want to connect with India.”
When asked if he believed a middle ground is needed for talks, he stated, “People who run the country know better. My information is little. We in India have very limited information about Pak people. Same is the case with them.”
In that viral video, Javed was asked by the Pakistani audience, “You have visited Pakistan so many times. When you go back, do you tell your people that these are good people? They aren’t just bombing us but also greeting us with garlands and love?”
He then replied, “We should not blame each other. It will solve nothing. The atmosphere is tense, that should be doused. We are people from Mumbai, we have seen the attack on our city. They (attackers) did not come from Norway or Egypt. They are still roaming free in your country. So if there is anger in the Hindustani’s heart, you can’t complain.”
At the same festival, the actor also spoke about the importance of maintaining friendly ties between both countries. Akhtar also stated that even though Pakistani artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan have been warmly welcomed in India, Pakistan has never held a single show of Lata Mangeshkar. “We hosted big functions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan. You (Pakistan) never organised a function for Lata Mangeshkar,” there were loud cheers and claps from the audience when he said.
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