Web Report
MUMBAI: Following threats from Indian extremists groups, cinema owners in India have decided that films with Pakistani actors would not be screened.
According to Indian media, a theatre owners’ body has requested members in three states not to screen films with Pakistani actors.
The Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India and the Censor Board have emphasized that it is not a ban.
“We have decided that these films (with Pak actors) should not be screened. This is based on public sentiment over the past few months,” Nitin Datar of the association said after a meeting on Friday afternoon, said a report.
The decision is taken days before Karan Johar’s widely- anticipated film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ is to release. This mega film starring Ranbir Kapur and Aishwarya Rai also features Pakistan’s Fawad Khan, who has a sizeable fan following in India.
Last month, a producers’ body in Mumbai passed a resolution banning Pakistanis from working in Indian films.
India extremist parties like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have threatened to block Mr Johar’s film if he does not drop Fawad Khan.