The Akhtar family has been disturbed and enraged by the insulting tone of the trolls who targeted Farhan Akhtar after images of him conducting puja for Diwali went viral. “We believe in the oneness of all gods,” a source close to the family tells me. Farhan’s father is a practising Muslim. His mother is Parsi, and for as long as she can remember, she has celebrated Diwali every year. Enjoying Diwali is as natural to Farhan as celebrating Eid. “How did the trolls get in?”
The Akhtar family is pursuing legal action, according to the source. “Javed Saab (Farhan’s father, Javed Akhtar) believes that letting go of the hateful words helps them. At the same time, he believes that attracting the attention of the haters and abusers is exactly what they want. Online harassment is usually ignored by the family. “However, the hatred quotient is just too high this time to be ignored,” the person said.
It’s past time that the bigots be recognised, shamed, and imprisoned.
Farhan has been silent about the matter. It has been suggested that he leave the problem to the legal staff to handle.
Farhan once told me, “It’s absolutely essential to try to be the finest human being that one can be,” while we were discussing the duties of stardom. That isn’t to say you should pretend to be or do something you aren’t. Everyone is prone to making errors. I’m sure I’ve made a few blunders in my time. What matters is that you TRY to do the right thing. It’s important to keep in mind that the public is always watching. As a result, make every effort to be on your best behaviour. It is possible that one will not be successful in every situation. But there’s a lot to be said for making an honest effort to do what’s right.”
