Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah have always kept their bold political opinions publicly. Recently the veteran actress admitted having different ideologies with her costars like Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher. She asserted that if there is a disagreement that does not mean that there is a disliking for the person. Ratna also said that despite different political beliefs there is no rift in interpersonal relations.

In an interview with The Lallantop, Ratna Pathak was asked why she and her husband still work with Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal despite their ideological differences. She replied, “We all grew up at a time when two people can be friends, but can also have different ideologies. You’re right in your place, I’m right in mine. There’s dialogue, discussion, and even disagreement, but that doesn’t cause a rift in interpersonal relations. This is a more recent trend. This is neither our country’s culture nor I’ve seen anything like this before.”

She also continued, “I was born in a home where my father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family. There was constant debate and arguments at our home, but still, we all lived together happily. I know that disagreement with an opinion doesn’t mean dislike of a person. This is a very new phenomenon, that if you don’t agree with me then you should be cancelled. This isn’t our culture, at least it’s not my culture, nor of anyone I know.”

“They’re making us Indians fight with each other like kids do in the school playground. How bullies ill-treat weaker kids. Do we want to be like them? No. I won’t become one, nor will I let my kids become them either. Whoever I have an influence on, I’ll tell them, ‘We cannot become bullies.’ We have to become cultured human beings. That’s our culture. Everyone makes so much noise about yoga these days. What does ‘yog’ mean? To culture yourself continuously and spend an entire lifetime making yourself a better human every day, in every way. That’s what BK Iyengar said. That’s what I’ve learnt from our country. These petty quarrels? That’s not my culture,” she added. 

Earlier, reacting to Ratna Pathak’s statement ‘Acting schools in India are shops’, Anupam Kher said that she made this statement out of bitterness. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Anupam Kher said “That’s her point of view. I was also watching Naseer’s interview, he was also saying the same thing. Both of them are from National School Of Drama, will they call NSD a shop? So, sometimes a person says things out of bitterness or gets philosophical. It’s not important for me to justify what they think. They think it’s a shop and it is perfectly alright with me.”

Also read: Anupam Kher Fumes At Ratna Pathak’s Statement Of ‘Acting Schools In India Are Shops’, Says ‘They Need To Rethink’

On the work front, Ratna Pathak was last seen in Tarun Dudeja’s Dhak Dhak. The movie also starred Sanjana Sanghi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Dia Mirza, Maahi Jain, and Nishank Verma in key roles. Dhak Dhak is streaming on Netflix. 

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