'Hate Against Muslims Has Become Fashionable': Naseeruddin Shah on Islamophobia

Naseeruddin Shah also opened up about how "undisguised propaganda" is being peddled into the masses through art.

Naseeruddin Shah, who has been an open critic of the BJP government and the growing Islamophobia in India, recently opened up about how hate against Muslims has become "fashionable" and is being cleverly tapped into by the government.

Speaking about the same in his conversation with The Indian Express, the veteran actor shared, "Oh sure, these are worrying times absolutely. The kind of stuff that’s pure, undisguised propaganda is being lapped up and it’s a reflection of the zeitgeist of the times. Muslim hating is fashionable these days, even among educated people. It’s what the ruling party has very cleverly tapped into this nerve. We talk about secular this, democracy that, so why are you introducing religion into everything?"

Shah also expressed his opinion on how "undisguised propaganda" is being peddled into the masses through art. He went on to tell The Indian Express, "The mood on-screen is a reflection of what’s happening on ground: unabashed Islamophobia which is being used to get votes in elections."

"I mean how spineless is the election commission of ours? Who doesn’t even dare utter a word. If there had been a Muslim leader who had said, ‘Allah Hu Akbar bol ke button dabao’ (Say Allah Hu Akbar and press the button), sh*t would have hit the fan.

Shah told The Indian Express.

"But here our Prime Minister goes ahead and says things like this and yet he loses. So, I have hope that this will wear off. But it’s definitely, at the moment, at its peak. It’s been a very clever card played by this government, and it has worked. Let’s see how long it continues to work," Shah further told the publication.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Shah was last seen in Zee5's historical drama, Taj: Divided By Blood.