True Tolerance!

Once in an interview, Naseeruddin Shah remarked that Amitabh Bachchan did not contribute significantly to meaningful cinema because he is purely a commercial actor. Later, a journalist relayed this comment to Amitabh Bachchan and asked for his reaction. Bachchan replied: "When an actor of international stature like Naseeruddin Shah says something, one should engage in self-reflection rather than giving a reaction." Long before this, a journalist told Dilip Kumar that Raj Kapoor had made a statement about him, and asked what he had to say about it. Dilip Kumar replied: "Raj is a very dear friend of mine, and he has every right to say whatever he wants about me." On another occasion, someone asked Gulzar to name his top five favourite lyricists. Gulzar listed five lyricists, but Javed Akhtar’s name was not among them. Naturally, a journalist brought this up to Javed Akhtar and sought his reaction. Javed Akhtar said: "All I can say to this is that I still need to work harder to earn a spot on Gulzar Sahab's list." Speaking out and responding is necessary, but one must never lose hold of restraint and civility. This is what true tolerance is.