Anupam Kher will soon be seen on the silver screen in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Actor Anupam Kher's tweets criticizing the group of filmmakers returning their National Awards have caused something of a commotion on social media. On Wednesday, Dibakar Banerjee, Anand Patwardhan and eight others announced they were returning their awards, condemning the murders of rationalists like MM Kalburgi and recent killings related to rumours of beef-eating and cow slaughter. The group of 10 were preceded by some 40 writers who have returned their awards or quit posts in literary body Sahitya Akademi. (Also Read:
10 Filmmakers Return National Awards, Say 'Disenchanted With What's Happening in Country')
Mr Kher, whose wife Kirron Kher is the BJP MP from Chandigarh, accused the 'Award Wapsi Gang' of being politically motivated.
He also blamed them for having had him ousted as Censor Board chief in 2004 by Manmohan Singh's UPA government.
Anupam Kher trended for a while on Thursday morning. Censor Board member Ashoke Pandit and filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar echoed Mr Kher's sentiments.
Not everyone agreed with Mr Kher, however, some taking the opportunity to sneak in a joke.
The 60-year-old actor remained unperturbed. In response to a tweet from Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi about 'forgetting' he won National Awards, Mr Kher said he 'respects' those who gave him his awards, for the films
Daddy and
Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara.
There were also a sizeable number of supporters for Mr Kher.
Anupam Kher, who made an acclaimed breakthrough in Mahesh Bhatt's 1984 film
Saaransh, has appeared in Hollywood films like
Silver Linings Playbook and will soon be seen opposite Salman Khan in
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. He is also filming Neeraj Pandey's
MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.