Akhtar responded, "Hum toh Bambaiye log hain. Hamne dekha wahan kaise hamla hua tha. Wo log Norway se toh nahi aaye the naa Egypt se aaye the, wo log abhi bhi aapke mulk me ghum rahe hain. Toh ye shikayat agar Hindustani ke dil me ho toh aapko bura nahi manna chahiye (The atmosphere needs to cool down. I am from Bombay and all of us witnessed the attack on Bombay. The attackers weren’t from Norway, or from Egypt. They are still present in your country, so you should not be offended if an Indian complains about this)."

 

Further, he also reminded the gathering that even though Pakistani artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan have been welcomed with open arms in India, Pakistan has never hosted a Lata Mangeshkar show.

 

"Mehdi Hassan was a cult figure in India. When he visited India, Shabana (Azmi) hosted it, I wrote for the event which was graced by the likes of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. When Faiz sahab visited, it seemed like an authority was visiting…it was broadcast all over. Have you ever seen Sahir (Ludhianvi), Kaifi (Azmi) or (Ali) Sardar Jafri’s interviews on PTV? It was shown in India, it happened there… So the communication blockade is from both sides and perhaps more from your side," he said.

Netizens have been heaping praise on the lyricist including Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. The Manikarnika actress took to Twitter to re-share a video of Javed Akhtar and supported him. She said, "Jab main Javed saab ki poetry sunti hoon toh lagta tha yeh kaise Maa Swarsati ji ki in pe itni kripa hai, lekin dekho kuch toh sachchai hoti hai insaan mein tabhi toh khudai hoti hai unke saath mein … Jai Hind @Javedakhtarjadu saab….. Ghar mein ghuss ke maara .. ha ha"