‘This Is A Better India’: Manoj Muntashir Reacts To Naseeruddin Shah University Controversy

Lyricist Manoj Muntashir, who is known for his work in ‘Adipurush’, ‘Kesari’, and others, has reacted to veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah’s allegations of disinvite from a university at the last moment.

The lyricist spoke with IANS at an event, and shared, “I think universities are run independently in this country. Universities are governed by the government. This is new information for me. I did not know this. They have autonomous management. I do not know what happened. But Naseeruddin Shah is a great artist. He is a great actor”.

He further mentioned, “We all respect him a lot. I read a statement. He said that the country where he grew up is not that India. Maybe he is right. The country where he grew up and I was growing up, was the country of

appeasement. This is a new India. This is a better India. This is a good India. I like this India more”.

The veteran actor sparked fresh controversy after claiming he was abruptly disinvited from a Mumbai University event he had been invited to attend. Shah said he was initially scheduled to appear at Jashn-e-Urdu, a cultural and literary programme organised by the Urdu department at the University of Mumbai, on February 1, an opportunity he valued mainly for the chance to engage with students.

However, he alleges that late on the night of January 31 he was informed the invitation was withdrawn without any explanation or apology, a move he described as both insulting and disappointing.

He also criticised what followed: he claims the organisers publicly told the audience that he had chosen not to attend, a narrative he strongly denied and called misleading. He suggested the real reason for the reversal may be his outspoken views and criticism of the current political climate, challenging those who labelled him as someone who “openly makes statements against the country” to point to any specific statement to that effect.