Actor, MP Shabana Azmi stirred a hornet’s nest when in an interview to a private TV channel; she stated that Indian democracy was unfair to Muslims. Expectedly, her remark angered the hardliner Hindus but a certain section among the Muslims too disagreed with her. Foremost among them is Shabana’s colleague from Bollywood Naseeruddin Shah.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV 24X7, acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah reacted to Shabana's statement stating that he thinks "the less we nurse this persecution thing, the better it will be."

Commenting on Shabana’s statement, he said, "I think that when the occasion arises, anyone is discriminated against. I can cite instances when Hindus have been discriminated against; forget about Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and so on."

Elaborating on his views on discrimination, Naseeruddin Shah said, "I have never felt any discrimination. I have never been refused housing in Bombay. I have lived there in all kinds of conditions from a paying guest, sharing with six people to having two apartments of my own. I have never had these problems. I don't deny that these problems exist, but I don't think that Muslims are exclusively the victims."