Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah: The Full Timeline of Bollywood's Most Personal Political Feud

Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah spent six years as Bollywood's most-cited example of ideological warfare between two men who genuinely respect each other's craft. Both are National School of Drama alumni. Both have shared the screen in acclaimed films including A Wednesday!, Karma, Mohra, Main Azaad Hoon and Aiyaary, often as ideologically opposed characters, which in hindsight reads like foreshadowing. What follows is the full, dated arc of how a political disagreement turned into a six-year public storyline, and how it ended.

Before 2020: The Backdrop

The distance between the two men predates 2020 by years. Shah has long been known as an outspoken critic of governments and rising intolerance. Kher, over the same period, increasingly became identified as a vocal supporter of the BJP-led government, commenting frequently on political issues through social media and television. Their positions surfaced publicly even before the 2020 flashpoint, including during 2015 debates around the ink attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni and the broader intolerance conversation of that year, where Shah spoke about the dangers of divisive politics while Kher criticised what he called selective outrage. The ideological distance existed well before it had a name.

January 2020: The Trigger

The immediate spark was the nationwide anti-CAA, NRC and NPR protests, and specifically actor Deepika Padukone's visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University to stand silently with student leaders after campus violence. In interviews around this period, Shah praised Deepika's courage, arguing that the film industry largely worships money and that younger actors were showing more bravery than seniors who'd stayed silent. Asked in the same conversations about industry figures supporting or opposing the government, Shah brought up Anupam Kher directly.

The Wire Interview: "Clown" and "Sycophant"

In the interview that defined the entire feud, Shah told The Wire that among film industry voices debating government policy, there were fewer backing the protests than opposing them, criticising the Twitter-active segment for lacking a clear stance. Asked specifically about Kher, Shah said he didn't think Kher needed to be taken seriously, called him a clown, and claimed contemporaries from NSD and FTII could attest to a sycophantic nature Shah described as in his blood, something he couldn't help. The remarks blended a critique of Kher's political conduct with a sweeping character judgment, which is precisely why they were read as personal rather than purely ideological. News channels and social platforms picked up the clip almost immediately, reframing it simply as Shah calling Kher a clown, stripped of most of the CAA context it came from.

The Media Amplification

Television outlets including India Today, ABP News and Economic Times ran the clown and sycophant quotes as standalone headlines, positioning the remark as a direct personal attack rather than a comment made inside a wider political debate. On social media, the clip spread fast, with commentary split cleanly along ideological lines: Shah's supporters praised his candour, Kher's supporters called it bitter and disrespectful. The stage was set for a response.

Kher's Video Response

Within days, Kher posted a video statement on his social media handle, then Twitter, opening with a Hindi-language address to Janab Naseeruddin Shah sahab that stressed his respect for Shah's artistry before pivoting to the rebuttal. Kher said he had never publicly insulted Shah, but would now respond, arguing that Shah had spent his life in frustration despite considerable success. He then listed the company he said his critics kept him in, naming Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan and Virat Kohli as figures he claimed Shah had also targeted. He closed by suggesting Shah's judgment had been affected by substances over the years, adding that neither he nor the major names he'd listed took Shah's comments seriously.

The Ideological Read

Commentators widely framed the exchange as symbolic of Bollywood's broader ideological split: Kher as the industry's most visible pro-government voice, Shah as one of its more consistently critical, liberal ones. Shah's sycophant framing reflected a view that certain industry figures actively courted favour with power, while his praise for Deepika and younger actors positioned them as risking commercial fallout for taking a stand. Kher's counter recast Shah's critique as habitual bitterness toward celebrated figures rather than a substantive political disagreement, folding personal grievance, reputation management and genuine ideological difference into a single exchange.

2020 to 2024: The Clip Never Really Left

The feud didn't stay static after the initial storm. The clown clip resurfaced periodically over the following years, almost always triggered by Kher appearing in a fresh political or cultural debate, with the old quote used as shorthand context for his politics.

2026: The Ram Temple Resurfacing

The clip's most notable comeback arrived in 2026, when Kher, responding to reports of donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, called the incident a very small matter relative to the historical destruction and plunder associated with Mughal-era attacks on temples. Times of India and other outlets noted Shah's old clown criticism going viral again in response, with critics using it to frame Kher's comment as insensitive or ideologically driven. It illustrated how thoroughly the 2020 feud had become shorthand for Kher's politics more broadly, invoked automatically whenever he made a strong nationalist or pro-government statement.

Late 2025 to 2026: The Apology

Despite the very public nature of the fight, the personal rift appears to have largely healed. In late 2025, on Samdish's YouTube show Unfiltered by Samdish, Kher revealed that Shah had apologised to him in person. Kher recounted that the two met at the memorial service for H.D. Pathak, a chartered accountant who had worked with both actors, where they spontaneously hugged and Shah said, simply, Sorry, yaar. Kher added that he has deep admiration for Shah, considers him one of the actors who inspired his own career, but feels Shah sometimes speaks loosely about him or other major names.

Kher's Closing Word

In later remarks, Kher stressed he doesn't like speaking negatively about Shah, still views him as brilliant and unmatched in parallel cinema, while suggesting some of Shah's bitterness has occasionally targeted him and icons like Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna. He framed the reconciliation as a decision to let it go and stop holding grudges, saying in a separate conversation that he no longer has the time or desire to stay stuck in animosity. Detailed accounts from Shah's own side of the reconciliation remain limited in mainstream coverage; most of what's public comes from Kher's telling.

Quick Facts

• Trigger event: Naseeruddin Shah's January 2020 interview with The Wire during the anti-CAA protests

• Key quotes: Shah called Kher a "clown" and "sycophant"; Kher accused Shah of frustration and alleged "substances"

• Shared filmography: A Wednesday!, Karma, Mohra, Main Azaad Hoon, Aiyaary

• Reconciliation revealed: On Samdish's YouTube show, late 2025

• Reconciliation location: H.D. Pathak's memorial service

• Resurfaced in 2026: Over Kher's comments on the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft report
  

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Naseeruddin Shah say about Anupam Kher in 2020?

In a January 2020 interview with The Wire, Shah called Kher a clown and a sycophant, saying it was in his blood and something he couldn't help. He made the remarks while discussing the anti-CAA protests.

Did Anupam Kher respond to Naseeruddin Shah's comments?

Yes, within days Kher posted a video response accusing Shah of lifelong frustration despite success, and listing Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan and Virat Kohli as fellow targets of Shah's criticism.

Have Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah reconciled?

Yes. Kher said in a late-2025 interview that Shah apologised in person at a memorial service, saying Sorry, yaar, and the two embraced.

Why did the Kher-Shah feud resurface in 2026?

The old clown clip went viral again after Kher downplayed a reported donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Temple by comparing it to historical temple looting, prompting critics to reference Shah's earlier criticism.

What films have Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah appeared in together?

The two have co-starred in several acclaimed films including A Wednesday!, Karma, Mohra, Main Azaad Hoon and Aiyaary, frequently playing ideologically opposed characters.