Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha slammed Mukesh Khanna for his ‘distasteful’ comment on him. The Shaktimaan actor questioned Sonakshi Sinha’s upbringing and blamed Shatrughan for her inability to answer a Ramayana-related question on Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 in 2019. This did not go down well with the Sinhas and they have lashed out at Khanna. After Sonakshi penned a long note to criticise the actor, Shatrughan also defended his daughter.
In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Shatrughan said, “I believe someone has a problem with Sonakshi not answering a question on the Ramayana. Firstly, what qualifies this person to be an expert on all things to do with the Ramayana? And who has appointed him as the guardian of the Hindu religion?”
“I am very proud of all my three children. Sonakshi became a star on her own. I never had to launch her career. She is a daughter any father would be proud to have. Not answering a question on the Ramayana doesn’t disqualify Sonakshi from being a good Hindu. She doesn’t need a certificate of approval from anyone,” Shatrughan added.
What is the controversy?
Sonakshi’s appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 has remained a point of discussion even years later. During the show, she was unable to answer a question about the Ramayana. “For whom did Hanuman bring the Sanjeevani booti?” was the question. The actress became a target of trolls and memes soon after.
Recently, Mukesh Khanna addressed the incident in an interview with Siddharth Kannan, reigniting the controversy. He stated, “It’s not Sonakshi’s fault; it’s her father’s fault. Why did you not teach your kids?”
Reacting to his comment, Sonakshi penned a long on Instagram and called him out for bringing up the incident which happened several years ago only to be in news at her expense.
“I may have blanked out that day, a human tendency, and forgotten who the Sanjeevani booti was brought for, but clearly you have also forgotten some of the lessons of forgive and forget taught by Lord Ram himself… If Lord Ram can forgive Manthara, if he can forgive Kaikeyi… if he can even forgive Ravan after the great battle was done, surely you can let go of this extremely small thing in comparison (sic),” a part of Sonakshi’s note read.
She continued, “Not that I need your forgiveness. But yes, I definitely need you to forget and stop bringing up the same incident time and again to be back in the news at the expense of me and my family. The next time you decide to say anything about the values my father has instilled in me… please remember its because of those values that I have only said what I said, very respectfully, after you decided to make some distasteful statements about my upbringing.”