‘Between Pakistan and hell, I would prefer hell’: Javed Akhtar’s take on being called ‘Kaafir’
Last month, Akhtar said in an interview that there is hardly “any warmth today” in India-Pakistan cultural ties, the veteran screenwriter-poet noted while saying that this is not the time to even think about whether Pakistani artists should be allowed to work in India. Mumbai: Javed Akhtar, renowned screenwriter and lyricist, who was speaking at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s book launch on Saturday night in Mumbai, said that if there comes a time he has to choose between Pakistan and hell, he would prefer to go to hell. Akhtar, 80, said extremists from both India and Pakistan shower abuses on him on a daily basis. “Someday, I’ll show you my Twitter (now X) and WhatsApp. I am abused by both sides. I’m not thankless, so I’ll say there are also people who appreciate what I say and encourage me. But it’s true that extremists from both here and there abuse me. This is right. If one of them stops abusing me, it’ll be a matter of concern for me.” Akhtar, amid a round …









