Country stands united

In the wake of the Pulwama attack, the Indian filmmakers are calling for a ban on Indian films releasing in Pakistan, events with any remote connection to Pakistan are being postponed or cancelled and the film industry is up in arms. The annual event Jashn-e-Rekhta held in Dubai, where the film and artistic community is invited to talk about Urdu poetry, has also been cancelled.

Keeping the current scenario in mind, the makers of Notebook also decided to postpone the trailer launch of their film. Notebook is produced under Salman Khan’s production house. “Salman had plans to launch the trailer of his film Notebook but keeping the current situation in mind, the makers had apparently pushed it for a few days.” Kangana Ranaut, who was all set to host the success bash of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi has also cancelled the event.

Even Yoodlee Films has decided to delay the release of the film Hamid. The makers were planning a special screening for CRPF jawaans in Srinagar on Monday, but given the tragic incident, the producers felt that the film should not be released at this point. Meanwhile, the film industry bodies led by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) and associations of make-up men, cinematographers and others have decided to stop work for two hours on Sunday at Mumbai’s Film City and other Mumbai studios to protest against the attack and offer prayers to the bereaved families of the CRPF jawaans.

Virat’s event postponed
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli has also postponed the RP-SG Indian Sports Honours, which was to take place on Saturday. The star-studded affair would have had many celebrities hobnobbing at the event. “The RP-SG Indian Sports Honours has been postponed. At this heavy moment of loss that we all find ourselves in, we would like to cancel this event that was scheduled to take place tomorrow (sic),” Kohli wrote on his twitter handle.

Kangana slams Shabana azmi
Soon after the Pulwama attack, veteran actress Shabana Azmi and celebrated lyricist Javed Akhtar announced that they have cancelled their visit to Karachi, for a two-day literature conference to celebrate Kaifi Azmi’s writings. “@Javedakhtarjadu and I were invited for a 2 day event celebrating Kaifi’s Centenary and were truly looking forward to it. I appreciate that our hosts the Karachi Arts Council mutually agreed to cancel the event at the nth hour in the wake of Pulwama attack (sic),” Shabana tweeted. While this decision was praised by many, the statement did not go down well with actress Kangana Ranaut, who called the veteran actress “anti-national”. The Queen star questioned why was the event organised in Karachi in the first place, as Pakistani artists are banned in the country since the Uri attack. She also added that such statements are just an attempt to save their faces. Kangana went on to say that the film industry is full of such anti-nationals who boost enemies’ morals in many ways.

Sidhu sacked from kapil sharma’s show
Congress MP Navjot Singh Sidhu’s insensitive remarks on the CRPF attack has stirred the hornet’s nest. During a media interaction following the attacks, Sindhu had said that an entire nation (Pakistan) cannot be held responsible for the dastardly acts of terrorists. Sidhu’s comments were met with harsh criticism and social media has been flooded with posts demanding his exit from The Kapil Sharma Show. While a source from Sony Entertainments has confirmed Sindhu’s exit from the show, sources close to comedian Kapil Sharma refute this claim. “Everybody who is a part of the show is too shocked and embarrassed by Sidhuji’s comments to react. There is no immediate move to remove him,” says the source. Kapil, who is a close friend of Sidhu, has chosen to distance himself from Sidhu’s controversial remark.