Amid the heated debate on the recently-released film, Animal, which is being questioned by many on moral grounds, veteran Bollywood actor Saurabh Shukla opined that one watches a film as per his or her own morality.

The winner of the National Film Award is in Kolkata for the ongoing 29th Kolkata International Film Festival. Responding to a question on the discussions surrounding Animal, he said, “It is a long debate about what film should be made and what not. I think whatever one watches is as per the individual’s moral compass.”

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Talking about his film Satya that was also ahead of its time, the actor quoted an eminent filmmaker and said, “You should never make a film that is beyond your moral compass. We belong to a society. We all are human beings but we have different views about life. We have different takes on things.”

The actor asserted on respecting different choices. Citing an example on the subject, he elaborated, “The vegetarians would say eating everything else is a sin. But that doesn’t make the non-vegetarians non-human beings. They are still human beings. It is one’s own moral compass to eat whatever one wants. One wears clothes according to the person’s choice. But insulting someone on the basis of that shouldn’t be done and it is applicable for other things in life.”

The screenwriter, who is married to Barnali Shukla (from Kolkata), claimed a deep connection with the city of joy. “Kolkata is home to me. I have spent my childhood eating Bengali food, cooked by my mother, who was also a Bengali,” informed the acclaimed director.

Shukla is known for his roles in much appropriated films like Satya (1998), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Barfi (2012), PK (2014) and so on. He received the National Film Award and the Screen Award for his role as the best actor in a supporting role  in the movie Jolly LLB.