Siddharth Shukla may have abused Asim Riaz’s father on countless occasions, but Riaz Ahmad has forgiven the former saying that he did not hold any grudges against him. Breaking his silence on the goings-on inside the Bigg Boss house, Asim’s father, a former senior civil servant in the Jammu and Kashmir government, told Twitter handle The Khabri that he remained ‘unaffected’ by Siddharth’s abuses.
Riaz Ahmad said, “Siddharth and I don’t know each other, so it doesn’t matter what he says about me. Although it’s not good that he abuses, I am unaffected as I think the reason behind Siddharth’s abuses is to demoralise Asim by abusing his parents.”
“I feel he has no ill feelings towards me and his abuses have little to do with me…rather Siddharth feels that Asim is turning into a threat so he tries to pull him down by discouraging him or demoralising him.”
In a remarkable display of magnanimity, Asim’s father said that he did not think that Siddharth Shukla was abusing him. He said, “I don’t think woh mujhe gaali de raha hai ya meri zaat ko gaali de raha hai (I don’t think he was abusing me or abusing my family). I feel a little bad when I see it on TV but I don’t feel angry because its a show wherein you have to live with different personalities and how you adjust with them. Sometimes they abuse each other, sometimes they have fun. The Bigg Boss house has a message for everyone on how to live with others and how to adjust.”
Speaking about Asim’s upbringing, Riaz Ahmad said that he was always notorious for his mischief in school. He said that Asim was kept in check by his sister and brother Umar until they studied together. However, he became incredibly naughty after both his siblings passed out of the school and went to pursue their higher education.
“My daughter (Mehwish), Umar and Asim studied together in the same school. His elder siblings would ensure that he pays attention to his studies, but as my daughter passed out and went on to pursue her MBA degree, while Umar went on to pursue his MBBS, Asim began to have a free reign in school. He was always very naughty, at times he would puncture the teachers’ motorbike tyre or bunk classes.”
Siddharth had to face plenty of criticism for often abusing Asim’s father during their fights. However, there was also an occasion when he had offered to sponsor the hajj pilgrimage of Asim’s parents.
Asim’s father said that the popularity of his son on social media was unprecedented. He said, “I feel Asim’s popularity is unprecedented. it also goes to show that there is transparency in the glamour world. Without having a godfather, he has managed to make it with hard work and passion. The way Asim presents his opinions, it is in a clear way, so the audience appreciates that. I also admit that in his temper he has abused, there are no two ways about it.”
How did Asim choose his career in the glamour industry? He said that it was his brother-in-law, who advised him to not force Asim to excel in the academic field. “My behnoi who retired as a deputy director-general had advised me on looking at Asim, that I shouldn’t force him to pursue anything academic but I should let him get into the glamour industry. He has worked hard and reached this stage, he has been to Capetown and Bangkok and worked for good brands.”