Top News

Singer Lucky Ali has sparked a new round of online debate after calling out veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar over a resurfaced clip in which Akhtar made remarks about religious identity. The video, which has been widely shared this week, shows Akhtar telling Hindus, “don’t become like Muslims.” While the date and context of the footage remain unclear, it appears to have been recorded at a public event where Akhtar was discussing democracy and free speech.

Lucky Ali reacts to Javed Akhtar's remark

Reacting sharply on X (formerly Twitter), Lucky Ali wrote: “Don’t become like Javed Akhtar, never original and ugly as f***.” He later clarified in a follow-up post: “what I meant was that arrogance is ugly…. it was a mistaken communique’ on my part…. monsters may have feelings too and I apologise if I hurt anyones monstrosity…….”

What Javed Akhtar had said

The clip also sees Akhtar reflecting on a classic scene from the 1975 film Sholay, which he co-wrote with Salim Khan. He explained: “In Sholay, there was a scene where Dharmendra hides behind Shiv ji’s murti and speaks, and Hema Malini (thinks) Shiv ji is talking to her. Is it possible to have a scene like that today? No, I will not write a scene (like this today). Were there no Hindus in 1975 (when Sholay released)? Were there no dharmic people? There were.”

But it was Akhtar’s comment on religious identity that caused the biggest stir: “As a matter of fact, I’m on record, I’m not saying it right here. Raju Hirani and I were in Pune in front of a big audience and I said, ‘Don’t become like Muslims. Make them like yourself. You are becoming like Muslims.’ It’s a tragedy.”

Javed Akhtar and controversies

Javed Akhtar has long been a polarising figure for speaking against hardliners across communities. Just last month, a cultural event in Kolkata had to be postponed after objections from the Muslim organization Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. Reflecting on years of controversy, Akhtar told NDTV: “Some of them call me a jihadi and that I should migrate to Pakistan. Some say I’m a kaafir and I will 100% go to hell and I should change my name, that I don’t have the right to have a Muslim-sounding name.”

He added, “In the last 20-25 years, Mumbai Police has offered me protection at least four times on their own… Three out of four times it was because of some Muslim organisations or people, and one time from the other side. This kind of reaction is nothing new for me.”

Lucky Ali himself has been no stranger to controversy. In 2023, he faced criticism for claiming that the Sanskrit word “Brahman” was derived from “Abram,” a claim widely dismissed by scholars. He later deleted the post and apologised publicly.