People have the right to speak their mind: Ashutosh Rana defends Naseeruddin Shah

New Delhi: Veteran actor Ashutosh Rana recently came out in support of fellow Bollywood personality Naseeruddin Shah over his comments on fearing for his children in the prevailing situation in India. Speaking to media persons at an event, Rana said that everyone has the right to speak their mind.

When asked about his views on what Shah has said recently in a Youtube video clip, Rana said everyone was entitled to having an opinion. "Everyone should have a right to share their thoughts with their friends or other people without any fear. We should be wary of reacting, acting or doing a trial on any such comment," he said. "If any of our brother or friend is saying something, we should not only listen to them but must also ponder over it."

Rana also said that the Indian culture is one that stands for tolerance. "Independence stands for simplicity and gentleness and that is what our culture is," he said.

Support and criticism have been in almost equal measure for Shah since his remarks on the prevailing situation in the country. "I feel worried thinking about my children because they have not received any religious education. We chose not to give any religious education to our children because I believe that good or evil has nothing to do with religion,” he had said, adding that more importance is being given to the death of a cow than to the death of a policeman - referring to the recent Bulandshahrviolence.

While some of his fellow Bollywood personalities - like Rana and Madhur Bhandarkar - extended their support to Shah, others sought to play down the comments made. Yoga guru Ramdev said that it is incorrect to term political intolerance as religious intolerance while Home Minister Rajnath Singh underlined that India is the most tolerant nation in the world.