A poetry and story reading session featuring actor Naseeruddin Shah at Mumbai University was cancelled at the last minute, with the actor saying he was “disinvited” without explanation.
The event, titled Preet Nagar, was scheduled for February 1 and was co-organised by the university’s Urdu Department and the Bazm-e-Ahbab Foundation as part of celebrations marking the Urdu language. It was to be held at the university’s Kalina campus and was to feature works by poets such as Sahir Ludhianvi and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Shah said he was informed late on January 31 that the session had been cancelled. According to media reports, he received an email from a coordinator involved in organising the programme.
In an article published by The Indian Express, Shah said the university neither offered a reason nor an apology for the cancellation. He said a university official had suggested that the decision was linked to his public statements, which were described as being “against the country”. Shah denied making any such remarks.
“This is not the country I grew up in and was taught to love,” Shah wrote, alleging growing surveillance and curbs on free expression.
Abdullah Imtiaz, head of Mumbai University’s Urdu Department, initially told Mumbai Mirror that Shah had withdrawn from the event himself. He later said that the co-organisers were coordinating directly with the actor and may have taken the decision to cancel the session.