Excuse me, Mr Naseeruddin

In 2018, Shah remarked that he feared for his children's future in India and said that, in some instances, the death of a cow seemed to matter more than the death of a police officer. The statement immediately became a national controversy. Supporters described it as a warning about intolerance. Critics argued that it presented an unbalanced portrait of India while overlooking the country's democratic resilience and everyday coexistence.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests provided another example. Shah openly sympathized with the protesters and criticized the government's handling of the demonstrations. This episode reinforced the impression among his critics that whenever a major political confrontation emerged, his position was remarkably predictable, which was based on his religious identity.
His remarks about the Mughals generated even sharper debate. By suggesting that the Mughal rulers came to India to make it their home and could be described as "refugees,". This characterization overlooked the realities of conquest, temple destruction, persecution under some rulers, and the suffering documented in historical sources. For them, the issue was not history alone but the selective framing of history.

The controversy widened further when Shah criticized the popularity of The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, and Gadar 2, describing the trend as dangerous. Many viewers disagreed strongly. They regarded these films as attempts to bring neglected subjects into mainstream discussion. Shah's remarks therefore reinforced a growing criticism that he appeared dismissive of narratives that challenged long-established cultural and political assumptions.


Most recently, reacting to police action during the Jantar Mantar protests, Shah warned that "everything will be remembered." Once again, his supporters praised him for speaking out. His critics, however, saw another instance of what they regard as selective activism. They asked whether he displays the same public urgency whenever victims, violence, or intimidation arise in circumstances that do not fit his preferred political narrative.

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For a growing section of the public, discussions about his work are increasingly overshadowed by debates over his political interventions. The headlines today are rarely about a memorable performance; they are about another interview, another controversy, or another sharply worded religious observation on current affairs.

There was a time when Naseeruddin Shah symbolised India's parallel cinema movement, a stream often associated with left-leaning. His image was that of an actor shaped by ideological debates rather than identity politics. Today, that image has changed. His public interventions are increasingly viewed through the prism of Muslim religiosity and political controversies rather than cinema. The ideological "comrade" who once claimed the language of universal progressivism has given way to a public figure whose interventions appear selective, predictable and increasingly religious. Whether on the Mughals, the CAA, The Kashmir Files or recent protests, it is his political commentary  not his acting that now defines his public persona.