Amid Row Over Karan Johar Film, Film Producers To Meet Rajnath Singh
A group of movie producers will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh this afternoon in the middle of a controversy over Karan Johar’s film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, which is set to be released next Friday.
The producers’ group asked for an appointment last night, sources say. “We need to know where we stand,” said producer Mukesh Bhatt.
Groups like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have threatened to block the film, which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, and vandalise cinemas that screen it. They say films with Pakistani artistes should be banned completely to respect public sentiment after the Uri attack last month in which 19 soldiers were killed by terrorists from Pakistan.
The Centre has not stepped into the row but had earlier spoken against “discriminating against actors from Pakistan”.
The Maharashtra government has assured protection to cinemas where the film will be screened from Diwali weekend.
Karan Johar, in an emotional video statement on Tuesday, said he would not work with Pakistani actors in future but pleaded the cause of “Ae Dil…” and those involved in its making.
“Going forward I would like to say of course I will not engage talent from neighbouring country given the circumstance. With that same energy I beseech you to know one thing, that over 300 Indian people in my crew have put their blood, sweat and tears in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and I don’t think it’s fair to them to face any kind of turbulence on account of other fellow Indians,” the 45-year-old filmmaker said.
He said he felt a “deep sense of hurt and pain” that people believed he is anti-national. “When I shot my film in September-December last year, the climate was completely different, circumstances were different. There were efforts made by our government for peaceful relationships with the neighbouring country and I respected those efforts then, and I respect the sentiment today… because I feel the same,” he said.
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Source:Ndtv
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