Anupam Kher slams filmmakers for returning awards

Slamming the filmmakers who returned their National Awards over growing intolerance in the country, noted Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Thursday said that they should celebrate awards as they have got it because a lot of people have put faith in them.

Kher also accused those returning the awards of doing so with an 'agenda'.

"Those people have an agenda and that's why they are doing what they are doing. They should be a part of celebrating cinema, should celebrate awards that they have got it because lots of people have put faith in them," said the actor whose wife Kirron Kher is a BJP MP from Chandigarh.

The actor said that there is no threat to either democracy or freedom of expression in the country.

He also lashed out at director Dibakar Banerjee, who had returned his national award for the movie 'Khosla ka Ghosla', saying that he had got the award because of the collective efforts of the actors in the film.

"Dibakar Banerjee got national award for 'Khosla Ka Ghosla', alongwith me, Ranvir Shorey and many others gave our blood to that film. He has no business to return that award without asking us because he got that award also because of us," Kher said.

Kher had even yesterday raised his voice over the issue by saying that filmmakers have insulted the Censor Board jury and the audience who watched their films by returning the awards.

Eminent filmmakers including Dibakar Banerjee, Anand Patwardhan and eight others yesterday returned their National Awards in solidarity with the protesting FTII students and against growing intolerance in the country.

Other filmmakers who have returned their awards are Nishtha Jain of "Gulabi Gang" fame, Paresh Kamdar, Kriti Nakhwa, "Hunterrr" director Harshvardhan Kulkarni, Hari Nair, Rakesh Sharma, Indraneel Lahiri and Lipika Singh Darai.