'If given a choice between Pakistan and hell, I would choose the latter': Javed Akhtar

The veteran writer shared that he gets abuses from both ideological fronts with one calling him a Kaafir (infidel) while the other tags him as a 'Jihadi'.

Javed Akhtar was recently attending the launch of Narkatla Swarg in Mumbai, a book by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, when he candidly addressed the criticism he frequently receives from opposing ideological camps.

Speaking about the backlash he faces, he said, “People from both sides abuse me. One calls me a Kaafir (infidel), saying that I will go to hell. The other calls me a Jihadi, asking me to go to Pakistan.”

“So, if I only have a choice of going either to hell or to Pakistan, I would rather like to go to hell,” he said.

“People from both sides abuse me. It's not one-sided. I would be very ungrateful if I didn't admit that there are people who also appreciate me. Many support me, praise me, and encourage me,” he said.

He further revealed that these abuses from extremists have become a constant in his life.

"This is the reality. If even one of them stops abusing me, I will call it an anomaly and think that I must have made a mistake,” he remarked.

Javed Akhtar's remark comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, conducting targeted missile strikes on terror camps in Pakistan.

What followed was a series of cross-border drone and missile strikes from both sides. On May 10, a ceasefire was announced. As per reports, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of New Delhi and Islamabad are expected to hold talks soon.