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Naseeruddin Shah disinvited from event; refuses to comment on issue
05 Feb 2026

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah was recently uninvited from Mumbai University's Jashn-e-Urdu event.

The university informed him late on January 31 that he did not need to attend the event planned for the following day.

In an op-ed for The Indian Express, Shah expressed his disappointment.

On Thursday, Times Now caught up with Shah at an airport, where the actor told the reporter, "I do not want to talk about the issue. Please do not harass me."

Shah denied any anti-national statements
Political controversy

Shah, in the op-ed, also suggested that his public criticism of the current political climate may have influenced the university's decision.

He claimed a senior university official had said he "openly makes statements against the country," a charge he vehemently denied.

The actor rejected the allegation and challenged the official to produce even one statement in which he had spoken against India.

The actor's take on India's political climate
Political critique

In his op-ed, Shah expressed his discontent with several aspects of India's political climate.

He wrote about the prolonged detention of student activists without trial, the rise of cow vigilantism, granting bail to those convicted of serious crimes, changes to history textbooks, and what he described as political rhetoric targeting minorities.

'Thought police' and '24 hours of hate'
Dissent and surveillance

Invoking George Orwell's 1984, Shah warned of the emergence of "thought police," increased surveillance, and a culture that equates dissent with sedition.

He wrote that what was once "two minutes of hate" had now turned into "24 hours of hate," adding that not praising the "great leader" increasingly risks being labeled anti-national.

Mumbai University has yet to respond to Shah's ep-ed.