'I Stand By It': Naseeruddin Shah Says His Post Supporting Diljit Dosanjh Amid Sardaar Ji 3 Controversy Was Taken Down By Facebook

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah recently voiced his support for Diljit Dosanjh, who had been receiving backlash for working with Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in his recently released Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3, which was shot before the April 22 Pahalgam attack. However, Shah's post was later found to be missing from his Facebook account, leading fans to assume that he had deleted it.

Naseeruddin Shah Supports Diljit Dosanjh Boldly

Now, Shah has clarified that he did not remove the post. it was taken down by Facebook, and stated that he continues to stand by his decision to support Diljit. In an article for The Indian Express, he said, "If this is taken to be a justification of my Facebook post (which has been taken down, not deleted by me) in support of Diljit Dosanjh, so be it. But the fact is, I need to justify nothing. I said whatever I had to say and I stand by it. Nor am I discouraged by the lack of support from the film industry. I wasn’t expecting any — they all either have too much to lose or they disagree."

Naseeruddin Shah Slams Trolls

Further, the actor hit back at trolls, saying, "And to the trolls, particularly the one who said to me 'Pakistan nahin ab kabristaan', I can only quote Jigar Moradabadi: 'Mujhe de na ghaiz mein dhamkiyaan, giren lakh baar ye bijliyan, / Meri saltanat yehi aashiyaan, meri milkiyat yehi chaar par' (Don’t threaten me in anger, let lightning strike a thousand time/ My nest is my domain, these four feathers all I own)."

Naseeruddin Shah's Post For Diljit Dosanjh

On June 30, the actor wrote on his Facebook handle, "I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of the Jumla Party has been awaiting a chance to attack him. They think they’ve got it at last. He was not responsible for the casting of the film; the director was. But no one knows who he is, whereas Diljit is known the world over, and he agreed to the cast because his mind is not poisoned."

Sardaar Ji 3 hit cinema screens worldwide on June 27. However, it skipped a theatrical release in India following backlash over the casting of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir.