Anti Pakistan sentiments are on quite high side in India these days. Following the government policy of alienating Pakistan in every possible way, different private and political entities are announcing limited or permanent bans on Pakistanis nationals. Pakistani sports persons were informally banned from 2008, so the other major area is arts.
Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) announced a formal ban on casting any Pakistani artists in any future project. However it relieved the projects which are already completed. Two major films Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Fawad Khan in a cameo and Raees starring Mahira Khan in the lead role are the two mostly discussed projects in this regard.
While Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is releasing on Diwali weekend on 28th October 2016, the producer cannot replace the Fawad Khan role with another artist due to limited time. However Raees, due to release on the Republic Day weekend of India on 26th January 2017 might replace Mahira Khan with some other artist.
Here is the recent update from an Indian website dnaindia on this matter
The stand-off between Pakistan and India has just claimed its first casualty in Bollywood. Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has been eased out of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees, due for release on the Republic Day weekend, according to reliable sources.
Says a source in the know, “It was a very painful decision for producer Ritesh Sidhwani to take. The pressure to replace her had been building up for months. It reached a crescendo after the Uri attacks. It came to a point where it became impossible to shoot with any Pakistani. People suggested all kinds of solutions to the impasse, including shooting in Dubai. But it didn’t seem viable. Now, Mahira has unfortunately been relieved of her duties.”
A hunt is now on for a Bollywood actress. “The Raees team needs to find a new girl in two weeks’ time,” says the source.
Acknowledgement: Whole content is borrowed from the website dnaindia
Rashid Nazir Ali
Fawad Khan – Biography, Family, Wedding, Wife, Son, Daughter, Movie, Dramas
