Country Comes First, Ban on Pak Actors Stays

In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), an organisation of movie artists, has reiterated its long-standing stance on boycotting Pakistani artists, singers, and technicians — a position it originally adopted after the 2019 Pulwama attack. With tensions flaring once again, projects such as Fawad Khan’s Abir Gulaal now hang in the balance.

Even Diljit Dosanjh’s upcoming film Sardaarji 3 —rumoured to star Hania Aamir — has come under fire, with calls for boycotts intensifying.

Calling for a complete ban, FWICE General Secretary Ashoke Dubey said, “If any member from India works with Pakistani artists, a case of treason should be filed against them so that they think a thousand times before doing it.”

Why do filmmakers take the risk of collaborating with Pakistani actors?

A question of war and peacetime

Balaji Vittal, TEDx speaker, author, Bollywood commentator, and public speaker, reflects, “It’s all a question of war and peacetime, right? Things work differently in peace; they work differently in war — or in a situation like this, post-Pahalgam.”

He points out how Pakistan-born Nazia Hassan, a British citizen, became the youngest-ever Filmfare award winner in 1981. “We’ve seen those days, too. Great actors, singers, Sufi artists, Qawwals — cross-cultural engagement has always existed. We’re of the same blood. But incidents like Pahalgam bring everything to a halt — art, culture, cricket, sports. That’s when people begin questioning why there was engagement in the first place. Nobody asks that when things are fine.”

“What we really need to hope for is that such ugly incidents never happen again. Pakistan has to come clean and say, ‘We won’t let this happen,’” he adds.

Justifying the ban

Ashoke Pandit, filmmaker and president of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association, is blunt: boycotting Pakistani artists is a necessary response to terrorism. “I strongly believe anyone who acts against the country’s interest is an enemy of the country. This idea that artists transcend borders or religion is nonsense. The country comes first,” he says.

“The Federation issued its order post-Pulwama in 2019, but people within the industry didn’t follow it. As for Fawad Khan — Abir Gulaal was shot and post-produced in London, so we weren’t aware until the poster was released. We’re thankful to the I&B Ministry for supporting our request to ban its release,” Ashoke Pandit said.

Pakistan hits back

Pakistani filmmaker Nabeel Qureshi has now urged his government to require actors to obtain No Objection Certificates (NoCs) before working on Indian projects, following FWICE’s stance on Abir Gulaal.

“Production houses should stop playing with fire. They are again and again tempting actors across the border with promising roles, and every time there is cross-border tension, it affects so many relationships. We have to all learn restraint and hold back.”

Bhawana Somaaya,

Indian film journalist and historian

“I strongly believe anyone who acts against the country’s interest is an enemy of the country. This idea that artists transcend borders or religion is nonsense. The Federation issued its order post-Pulwama, but people didn’t follow it. As for Abir Gulaal, we weren’t aware until the poster was released.

Ashoke Pandit,

President, Indian Film & TV Directors’ Association