PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti hits at Bollywood’s Javed Akhtar for overlooking the “lived and shared realities of Indian Muslims”

STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, JANUARY 18 (STC): Proples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday hit out at screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar for overlooking the “lived and shared realities of Indian Muslims.” She said that Bollywood has long served as a “living mini-India,” mirroring the nation’s social realities.
In a post on X, the former chief minister, responded to recent remarks by screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar, who had dismissed composer A.R. Rahman’s concerns over the growing communalization within the film industry.
Mufti said that by rejecting Rahman’s apprehensions, Akhtar overlooks the “lived and shared realities of Indian Muslims.
She pointed to the experiences of Akhtar’s wife, veteran actress Shabana Azmi, who has previously spoken about being denied housing in Mumbai on account of her Muslim identity. “Bollywood has always been a living mini-India, mirroring the country’s social realities,” Mufti wrote. “Brushing aside such experiences does not change the truth about today’s India.”

(Straight Talk Communications)