"How are we maligning the Prime Minister by writing a letter to him," questions Shyam Benegal, shocked at the recent turn of events. On Thursday, an FIR was lodged in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, against 50 celebrities — including Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sensharma, Mani Ratnam and Benegal — for having written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, expressing their concern over the rampant incidents of mob lynching. The case was lodged after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari on a petition filed by Bihar advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha. In his petition, Ojha stated that the letter "tarnished the image of the country and undermined the performance of the prime minister" besides "supporting secessionist tendencies".

Konkona Sen Sharma