Fawad Khan not in India, may not come from Pakistan to promote Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

WATCH VIDEO: What Fawad Khan Has to Say About India And Its Hospitality Months Back 

The actor, who will next be seen in Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in which he has an extended special appearance, will in all probability skip the promotional activities that had initially been planned. Says a source close to the production house, “Karan Johar had planned the promotional activity of his movie by drawing in Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Fawad Khan. The actor was supposed to join in for a week’s time before flying back to be with his wife. But given the political call for his ban, it looks impossible. In any case, there was little window available to have Fawad in Mumbai because his wife is expecting their second child.”

While Fawad’s absence may affect the ADHM’s promotional activities, Karan currently must be more concerned about MNS remaining tough on their decision to stall his movie unless Fawad’s scenes are deleted. The party upped the ante today by staging a protest outside his office and home demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani actors and deletion of their scenes from his movie.

Fawad Khan is back in Pakistan. MNS has threatened to block the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which has him in an extended guest appearance.

MNS had issued a 48-hour ultimatum on Friday to all actors from across the border to leave India in the wake of Uri attacks. Fawad is playing a guest role in Karan Johar’s upcoming film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Also read: Open letter to Fawad Khan & co: Take a stand like you did after Paris terror attacks for silence is not golden anymore

Eighteen soldiers were killed in the Uri terror attack. In the wake of the attack, MNS had demanded that all Pakistani actors should leave India by September 25. Fawad was threatened directly by the Raj Thackeray-led outfit. “When our soldiers are being killed on the borders by Pakistan, why should we host their actors here? We warn all Pakistani actors to leave India in the next 48 hours. If they do not do so, MNS activists will give them a thrashing,” Ameya Khopkar, president of the MNS Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, had said.

Also read: https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/mns-fawad-khan-out-of-bollywood-3047505/MNS, will throwing Fawad Khan and others out of Bollywood end terror?

Shalini Thackeray, General Secretary of MNS Chitrapat Karamchari Sena, had said, “It is not a veiled threat. It’s a direct threat to producers like Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar who take Pakistani actors in their movies. Can’t you find Indian actors for your films? In this 125 crores Indian population, can’t you find a single Indian actor to cast in your films that you import people from a place like Pakistan, a country with which we all are facing a problem? It’s not a veiled threat but a direct threat. We will not allow the release of these movies here.”

Days later, the director of the film, Karan had said about the threat, “I understand the anger and the anguish that surround us and I empathise, my heart bleeds for the lost lives. There is nothing that can justify this terrible feeling of terror. Then you are faced in a situation such as this (asking for ban on Pak artistes). If this was truly a solution, one would take it… But this is not a solution. I don’t believe it is. The larger forces have to come together and sort the situation and this cannot be banning talent or art,” he had said.

Also read: Zindagi channel not to have Pakistani shows, Zee announces revamp

Speaking about how vulnerable he feels and how Bollywood is a soft target, he had said, “I feel vulnerable and scared while even saying this. I completely feel the pain and anger. If my film is targeted because of this, it will make me exceptionally sad because my intent was to put out a product out of love and nothing else… I beseech everyone to look at it holistically and understand the situation, that there is a larger situation here and it has nothing to do with banning talent. Let’s look at it from a larger perspective and find the answer.”