'You Forgot Hindu Dharma?' Mukesh Khanna LASHES OUT At Sharmila Tagore Over Vande Mataram Row | FPJ Exclusive

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has never shied away from expressing his views on social, political and cultural issues. The actor, best known for playing Shaktimaan and Bhishma in Mahabharat, has now reacted strongly to remarks attributed to veteran actress Sharmila Tagore regarding Vande Mataram and the debate around singing the national song in its entirety.

In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, Mukesh was asked about Sharmila’s reported view that only the opening stanzas of Vande Mataram should be sung, keeping in mind India’s religious diversity and the sentiments of people belonging to different faiths.

Reacting to the remarks, Mukesh questioned why concerns surrounding other religions should influence the way Vande Mataram is viewed.

“She is speaking according to her own understanding. I don’t know why she said it. Maybe while explaining her point of view, she ended up saying that people from other religions may not understand or accept it,” Mukesh said.

Mukesh then brought up Sharmila’s marriage into the Pataudi family and referred to her as “Ayesha Begum” while questioning her stand on the issue.

“Did you realise only after marriage that Islam also exists? When you became a Begum, did you then realise that Muslims follow a different faith? You became Ayesha Begum for marriage, but today you are speaking as Ayesha Begum. I’m surprised that after living your whole life with Hinduism, you have suddenly become concerned about other religions,” he said.

He also referred to Sharmila’s Bengali roots and questioned why, according to him, such concerns had emerged now.

“You grew up in Bengal, where Kali Puja is celebrated on such a large scale. You have grown up with Bengali culture and Bengali films. Why is it only now that you feel that people from another religion may not accept this?” he asked.

Mukesh further disagreed with the suggestion that Hinduism involves the worship of multiple separate Gods, explaining his own interpretation of the religion.

“We have 33 crore devi-devtas, but that does not mean there are 33 crore Gods. There is one God, who is nirakar, without a form. A devotee may see that God in Hanuman, Shiva, Ram or Krishna,” he said.

Mukesh added that Hindu belief allows devotees to visualise the divine in different forms. Referring to Ram and Krishna, he described them as avatars who appeared in different yugas.

“So they are the avatars of God. They come in every yuga. If God appears before me, perhaps he will appear as Shiva because that is the form I believe in. For someone who believes in Krishna, he may appear as Krishna,” he explained.

The actor then returned to the Vande Mataram debate and claimed that opposition to the song from sections of the Muslim community historically went beyond references to Hindu deities in its later verses.

According to Mukesh, the objection was also connected to the idea of bowing before anyone other than God. “Their objection did not begin today. The argument has been that they bow only before Khuda and therefore would not bow before anyone else,” he claimed.

Mukesh also cited different musical renditions of Vande Mataram, including versions associated with Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar and AR Rahman.

He specifically referred to Rahman’s Maa Tujhe Salaam and said the song itself used the idea of saluting the motherland. “He says ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’. He is calling her Maa and offering a salute,” Mukesh said.

The actor maintained that people living in India should respect the country and its national symbols, while arguing that nobody should be forced to physically bow.

“We bow before Bharat Mata. If someone does not want to bow, fine, we are not forcing them to bow. But then saying that Vande Mataram itself should not be sung is something I do not understand,” he said.

Mukesh also criticised what he described as political appeasement surrounding the controversy. According to him, political parties should not alter their stand on Vande Mataram merely to appeal to a particular voting bloc.

“You are not following a principle, you are following appeasement. You are trying to show Muslims that you are still with them so that they vote for you. That is the whole problem,” he concluded.