Lyricist Javed Akhtar took to Twitter today (July 28) to slam the Indian film director Shekhar Kapur for his tweets in which he called the embrace of ‘intellectuals’ a ‘bite of a snake’.

Akhtar reacted strongly to Kapur’s tweets stating that he needs to meet a ‘good psychiatrist’.

It all began after Kapur took to Twitter to share his views on the incident in which 49 people from different walks of life wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the mob lynching issue in the country.

He tweeted, “Started life as refugee of Partition. Parents gave everything to make a life for kids. Was always in fear of ‘intellectuals’. They made me feel insignicant. Small. Then suddenly embraced me after my films. I still fear them. Their embrace is like a bite of snake. Still a refugee. (sic)”

Akhtar lashed out at Kapur by replying to the tweet saying, “What do you mean by still a refugee Does it mean that you feel like an outsider n not an Indian n you don’t feel that this is your motherland. If in India you are still a refugee where will you not feel like a refugee, In Pakistan? Cut this melodrama you poor rich but lonely guy. (sic)”

Replying to this, Kapur said, “No. It means once you are a refugee, you feel a gypsy.”

Akhtar had already added another reply to the initial tweet saying, “Who are these intellectuals who embraced you and you found that embrace like a snake’s bite? Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopal Krishna, Ram chandra Guha? Really?  Shekhar saheb you are not well. You need help. Come on, there is no shame in meeting a good psychiatrist. (sic)”

Stating that he is contradicting his own Twitter profile, Akhtar said, “You introduce yourself as neither prejudiced by the past nor afraid of the future living in this moment and in the same breath you say you are a refugee of partition and still a refugee . One doesn’t need a magnifying glass to see the contradiction. (sic)”