Acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui released a video today that sent out a powerful message to promoters of religion-based politics. In a video titled ‘Sixteen point six six’, Siddiqui displayed his commitment to secularism.
In the 55-seconds long video, he is seen holding several placards that end with a message that his true identity lies in being an artiste. He says that he got a DNA test done and the report suggests that he is, “16.66% Muslim, 16.66% Hindu, 16.66% Christian, 16.66% Sikh, 16.66% Buddhist and 16.66% other religions, but 100% artist.”
The clip, which was posted on his social media accounts, went viral within an hour.
Siddiqui’s post comes a week after singer Sonu Nigam took to Twitter to express his displeasure on being woken up by the morning prayer call. In a series of tweets, the singer wrote: “God bless everyone. I'm not a Muslim and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India. I don't believe in any temple or gurudwara using electricity to wake up people who don't follow the religion. Why then..? Honest? True?”
A few months ago, a Delhi University student, Gurmehar Kaur, was trolled online after she posted a similar video holding placards. One of her placards read, "Pakistan did not kill my father, war killed him."
