Ratna Pathak Shah on why she works with Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal despite ideological differences: 'That's not my...'

Written By Aman Wadhwa | Updated: Jun 17, 2024, 05:25 PM IST

Paresh Rawal-Ratna Pathak Shah-Anupam Kher

"I've been born in a home where my father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family", said Ratna Pathak Shah when she was asked why she and her husband Naseeruddin Shah work with Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal despite clashing ideologies.

Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah are often seen sharing their political beliefs in her interviews, and both actors keep their ideologies differences separate from their profession. They continue to work with Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal, who have exactly opposite ideological beliefs from the couple.

In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Ratna Pathak Shah revealed the reason behind the same as she said, "We all grew up at a time when two people can be friends, but can also have different ideologies. You're right in your place, I'm right in mine. There's dialogue, discussion, and even disagreement, but that doesn't cause a rift in interpersonal relations. This is a more recent trend. This is neither our country's culture nor I've seen anything like this before. I've been born in a home where my father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family. There was constant debate and arguments at our home, still we all lived together happily. I know that disagreement with an opinion doesn't mean dislike of a person. This is a very new phenomenon, that if you don't agree with me then you should be cancelled. This isn't our culture, at least it's not my culture, nor of anyone I know."

Speaking about the growing intolerance in the scoiety today, the actress continued, "They're making us Indians fight with each other like kids do in the school playground. How bullies ill-treat weaker kids. Do we want to be like them? No. I won't become one, nor will I let my kids become them either. Whoever I have an influence on, I'll tell them, ‘We cannot become bullies.’ We have to become cultured human beings. That's our culture. Everyone makes so much noise about yoga these days. What does ‘yog’ mean? To culture yourself continuously and spend an entire lifetime making yourself a better human every day, in every way. That's what BK Iyengar (founding yoga proponent) said. That's what I've learnt from our country. These petty quarrels? That's not my culture."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ratna Pathak Shah was last seen in the 2023 drama Dhak Dhak, which also starred Dia Mirza, Sanjana Sanghi, and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the lead roles. Released in October last year, the film failed to leave its mark at the box office.

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