Nana Patekar reacts to Naseeruddin Shah's remark against 'jingoist' films like Gadar 2, The Kerala Story

Nana Patekar has responded to the comments made by Naseeruddin Shah on the 'disturbing' success of recent films such as Gadar 2 and The Kerala Story.

Naseeruddin Shah recently shared his take on the box office success of Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar 2 as well as Adah Sharma's The Kerala Story. The veteran actor slammed the films, both of which were released this year, and said how ‘jingoism’ sells these days. Now, actor Nana Patekar has responded to Naseeruddin Shah's comments, as per a report by ETimes. Gadar 2 director Anil Sharma had also responded to Naseeruddin's remark.

Nana Patekar has questioned Naseeruddin Shah's remark against Gadar 2 and The Kerala Story.

Nana Patekar on Naseeruddin Shah's remark

As per ETimes, Nana has said, "Did you ask Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) what nationalism means to him? According to me, showing love for the nation is nationalism and it is not a bad thing... The kind of film Gadar is, it will have that kind of content. I have not seen The Kerala Story, so I cannot comment on that."

What Naseeruddin Shah had said

In a recent interview with Free Press Journal, Naseeruddin Shah had opened up about the kind of films being made in Bollywood now. He had said, "Now the more jingoist you are the more popular you become because this is what has been ruling this country. It’s not enough to love your country but beat drums about it and you have to create imaginary enemies. What these people don’t realise is that what they are doing is very harmful."

He had added, "In fact, films like The Kerala Story and Gadar 2, I haven’t seen them but I know what they are about, it’s disturbing that films like Kashmir Files are so massively popular whereas films made by Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha, and Hansal Mehta, who are trying to portray the truth of their times don’t get seen. But it’s important that these filmmakers don’t lose heart and continue telling stories."

Anil Sharma says Naseeruddin should watch Gadar 2

Anil Sharma has also responded to Naseeruddin Shah statement and urged the veteran actor to watch Gadar 2 first. He told Aaj Tak, "I am a fan of his acting. If he has made those statements, I would like to request him to watch my film, he will certainly change his opinion. Naseer saab (Naseeruddin Shah) knows pretty well that I have always made films for the sake of the masala, and never (has) political agenda (been a part of my films)."

About Gadar 2 and The Kerala Story

Gadar 2 is a sequel to the hit film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, which was released in 2001. In the film, Sunny Deol played the role of Tara Singh, a truck driver, while Ameesha Patel played Sakeena. It was set during the partition of India in 1947.

Gadar 2 follows Tara Singh as he ventures across the border in a daring attempt to rescue his son Charanjeet Singh, portrayed by Utkarsh Sharma, who has been captured in Pakistan. Released on August 11, Gadar 2 has collected ₹516.43 crore nett in India, as per a report by Sacnilk.com.

Written and directed by Sudipto Sen, The Kerala Story was released in May and stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani and Sonia Balani in lead roles. The controversy around The Kerala Story started after the release of its trailer. It had claimed that over 32000 women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and were recruited by the terror group ISIS.

Later, after backlash from politicians and others, the figure was omitted from the trailer and the description mentioned it as the story of three women from Kerala. The film earned ₹241.74 crore nett in India, as per a report by Sacnilk.com.