University's Urdu event marred by Naseeruddin Shah's absence, actor blames Urdu department and organizers

A literary session that was to feature veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, organized in collaboration with the University of Mumbai's Urdu department, was cancelled at the last minute, but a controversy has erupted over the cultural expenditure of the actor. The confusion has arisen as to who was behind the cancellation of the program titled 'Preet Nagar' scheduled for February 1, which has not been explained.

Sources said that the Urdu department and the co-organizers, Bazm-e-Ahab Foundation, cited "security concerns" to cancel the event, while the head of the Urdu department, Abdullah Imitiaz, initially tried to suggest that the actor had himself opted out of it. Later, he attempted to distance his department from the controversy, trying to put the blame of cancellation on Bazm-e-Ahab, which was not correct.

In response to messages, Naseeruddin Shah clarified that his withdrawal from the event was a "lie". "I was informed at the very last moment, on the night of January 31, that the event had been cancelled. It was something I was really looking forward to," he further wrote that he was not given any reason for the cancellation.

He said he received an email from Ghazal Sheikh, who was coordinating with him. "I was told in an email by Ghazal Sheikh that: 'Sorry to inform you of this bad news that due to some unfavorable circumstances, we will not be able to hold your session at the University of Mumbai tomorrow, i.e., February 1, 2026.'"

Naseeruddin Shah's intention to attend the event can be gauged from the fact that a few days before the event, he had shared a short video in which he congratulated the Urdu department on organizing the event and announced his presence on stage. The video was shared on Bazm-e-Ahab and the organization's co-founder, Tauseef Ahmed Sheikh's social media handles. However, Tauseef Sheikh was not available for comment despite repeated texts and calls.

Preet Nagar was billed as a narrative and performance-based poetry reading session, which was to reference the works and ideologies of poets like Sahir Ludhianvi and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

The controversy began when the invitees were informed on the day of the event that Shah would not be attending and the session was cancelled. When the Urdu department HOI was contacted, Imitiaz initially said that the actor had himself withdrawn his participation and blamed social media rumors. Later, Imitiaz told the daily that "the invitation was cancelled by Naseeruddin Shah."

However, after being confronted with a phone call from Shah himself on Tuesday, Abdullah Imitiaz got back in touch, distancing the university from the controversy, and claimed that the Urdu department had nothing to do with the cancellation.

He said, "We did not invite Naseeruddin Shah, it was the organizers who were collaborating with him, maybe they cancelled the event, we do not know anything about it," he said. However, he maintained that he had no information about contacting Bazm-e-Ahab officials, which raises further questions about who was responsible for the invitation and its sudden withdrawal.

Neither the University of Mumbai nor the Bazm-e-Ahab Foundation has issued any explanation so far.