Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in trouble, cinema owners’ body refuse to screen it in four states

He said that while the decision to not screen certain films would cause monetary losses for the theatre owners, there might have been greater damage if their screens were vandalised. “The association is not going to screen any movie and the decision implies from today until things don’t get normal. States included under the association are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa,” Datar added.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil stars Pakistani star Fawad Khan in a pivotal role and will be the first such film to hit the theatres after the escalated tension between the two countries in the aftermath of Uri attack.

Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had threatened to block the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in Maharashtra. Later, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) announced a ban on Pakistani actors but had requested MNS for a smooth release of films that have already been finished. Other than Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, films which will be hit by this ban include Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees starring Mahira Khan as well as Dear Zindagi which has Ali Zafar.

There was speculation that Karan Johar may replace Fawad in his film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma but a source in Dharma, his production house, confirmed to indianexpress.com on Thursday that the actor would not be dropped. The film has been passed by censor board already. It will release on October 28.