Naseeruddin Shah CLARIFIES After Backlash Over 'Persian Words In Marathi Language' Comment

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah found himself at the centre of controversies after he recently stated that many Persian words were a part of the Marathi language. Not just that, but he also claimed that Sindhi language was no longer spoken in Pakistan, but later backtracked.

However, his remark about the Marathi language did not go down well with a section of the society, who felt that the actor was disrespecting the local language.

Shah later issued a statement calling the uproar an "unnecessary controversy" and clarified his stance.

Naseeruddin Shah clarifies 'Persian words in Marathi language' comment

It all began when during an interview, Shah stated how the Urdu language is spoken and used to widely in India. He went on to say, "Most Marathis don't realise how many Persian words are there in Marathi language."

When the interviewer went on to ask, "You had said that there was an influence of Farsi on Marathi words," the veteran actor reiterated, "Those Farsi words are there, but they get surprised..."

Soon after, the Marathi population slammed the actor for undermining their language, but the actor clarified that he did not mean any of it.

"My exact words were “many Marathi words are of Farsi origin.” My intention was not to run down the Marathi language but to talk of how diversity enriches all cultures Urdu itself is a mix of Hindi Farsi Turkish and Arabic. English has borrowed words from all European languages not to mention Hindustani and I suppose that is true of every language spoken on earth," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Naseeruddin Shah's 'Sindhi language' controversy

The actor even mentioned during the interview that Sindhi language, which is a native of Pakistan, is not spoken in that country anymore.

However, soon after his video went viral, a number of Pakistani celebs including Mansha Pasha and Yasir Nawaz schooled him and said that Sindhi is still actively spoken in their country.

Shah admitted his mistake in the Facebook post, and wrote that he was "in error" there.