Within days of issuing an ‘ultimatum’ to Pakistani film artists to leave the country, members of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS on Tuesday staged a protest outside the production house of director-producer Karan Johar here, leading to the arrest of around 15 of them.
The demonstration was held in front of Mr. Johar’s Dharma Production office, whose ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ has a special appearance by Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.
The MNS has been venting its ire on Pakistani actors and artists in India and also the producers casting them in their projects, following the Uri terror attack. It has also raised a flag against Shah Rukh Khan starrer Raees in which Pakistani actor Mahira Khan is playing the female lead.
According to the Amboli police, around 15 MNS workers were arrested after they began protesting and raising slogans against Pakistani artists on the office premises of Mr. Johar in suburban Andheri. They were arrested under Section 68 of Mumbai Police Act.
These were preventive arrests and they were liable to be granted bail after warning, said Senior Police Inspector Bharat Gaikwad.
Notably, the police had served notice to the MNS’ Chitrapat Kamgar Sena (Films wing) president Amey Khopkar under Section 149 on Sunday after he and party general secretary Shalini Thackeray gave an ultimatum to Pakistani actors and artists to leave the country within 48 hours. Defending the protest, Ms. Shalini said her party would not allow the release of Mr. Johar’s film.
“Karan Johar, who has made the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil , had recently said that Pakistani actors should not be prohibited from working in India. We wish to remind him that Indians see his movies that result in him earning crores of rupees. If he survives on Indians’ money, how can he not respect the feelings of his fellow Indians,” she said in a statement.
“We strongly condemn Karan Johar’s point of view that banning Pakistani actors and artists would not solve the problem of terrorism. How can he give such an immature and a shallow statement? Our party workers will not allow the release of his film come what may,” Mr. Thackeray said.
The MNS also submitted a letter to Mr. Johar’s office, in which it said Bollywood had not taken the issue of terror attacks seriously while allowing Pakistani actors to earn money in the film industry in the name of exchange of culture and art.
“Is there a dearth of talent in our country? If you have true respect for the sacrifice of our soldiers on the border, you would not have supported Pakistani artists,” it said.
The letter further warned him and other filmmakers of “dire consequences in MNS style”, if they did not come out and make an open statement of not casting Pakistani artists in future.
They also said they had dashed off letters to Pakistani actors, whose country is allegedly sponsoring terrorism, to stop their acting business here and quit the country.
Mumbai police had, however, given an assurance to the actors.
‘Fawad left in July’ Meanwhile, sources said all Pakistani actors, including Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, left India for personal reasons, even before the MNS threatened to push them out in the wake of the Uri terror attack.
Days after 18 soldiers were martyred in the terror strike at Uri, the MNS had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Pakistani actors and artists to leave India by September 25 or else they would be “pushed out.”
Sources, however, say that artists including Fawad Khan, Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan and Imran Abbas have already flown out.
“He [Fawad] is not in India. He has not been here since July. He had finished his work for the film and hence his presence was not required further, so he went back,” sources said. The 34-year-old actor is in Lahore as his wife is expecting their second child.
Fawad will be seen in a cameo in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil . The film's promotions will kickstart in October as it is scheduled to release on October 28, ahead of Diwali.
