Singer Lucky Ali has come forward to criticise Javed Akhtar after an old video resurfaced, which claimed that the veteran lyricist made a remark about Hindu-Muslim dynamics. Lucky Ali lashed out, saying Javed has never been original. However, the singer later issued a clarification regarding his comments.

Lucky Ali slams Javed Akhtar

It all started when Lucky Ali noticed a tweet which read, “Javed Akhtar tells Hindus, “Don’t become like Muslims. Make them like you. Don’t become like Muslims. It’s a tragedy. West Bengal Urdu Academy was right in withdrawing its invitation to this shameless bigot masquerading as a wise man.”

The post came with a link which is not available now. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the remarks being attached to Javed.

Reacting to the same post, Lucky Ali wrote, “Don’t become like javed akhtar, never original and ugly as f**k.”

Later, he issued a clarification that his remark was not directed at Javed’s looks. Explaining his earlier tweet, Lucky Ali wrote, “What I meant was that arrogance is ugly…. it was a mistaken communique’ on my part…. monsters may have feelings too and I apologise if I hurt anyones monstrosity.”

What did Javed said in the video

In the old video, Javed is seen talking about freedom of speech and level of tolerance, by picking an example from the Sholay film. He said, “In Sholay, there was a scene where Dharmendra hides behind Shiv ji’s murti and speaks, and Hema Malini (thinks) Shiv ji is talking to her. Is it possible to have a scene like that today? No, I will not write a scene (like this today). Were there no Hindus in 1975 (when Sholay released)? Were there no dharmic people? There were.

“As a matter of fact, I’m on record, I’m not saying it right here. Raju Hirani and I were in Pune in front of a big audience and I said ‘Don’t become like Muslims. Make them like yourself. You are becoming like Muslims’. It’s a tragedy,” he added in the clip.

More about Lucky Ali

Born to legendary actor-filmmaker Mehmood, Lucky Ali made his debut in the Indian music scene rather late. He was already 37 when his debut album Sunoh was released in 1996. He eventually made his breakthrough in Bollywood with two hit tracks in the 2000 movie Kaho Na… Pyaar Hai. He even ventured into acting with films like Kaante and Sur. Having sung memorable songs in several films over the next decade, Lucky distanced himself from Bollywood after Tamasha (2015). In 2022, Lucky Ali returned to mainstream music with his track Intezaar, which he made in collaboration with composer Mikey McClearey. He was also recently seen in a film called Murder at Teesri Manzil 302. In recent times, he has been busy with live shows.

More about Javed Akhtar

Meanwhile, Javed Akhtar is known for delivering hits and cult classics such as Zanjeer, Deewar and Sholay. He has won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics five times for his work in the films Saaz, Border, Godmother, Refugee, and Lagaan. Most recently, he penned lyrics for the film Yudhra, including the songs Saathiya and Hatt Jaa Baaju.