Farhan criticises MNS for forcing Johar to donate 5 crores to army relief fund

Mumbai: Farhan Akhtar, known to be a conscientious celebrity, has spoken out strongly against Karan Johar having to pay 5 crores to the Army Relief Fund.

The actor-director, who’s busying himself with the promotions of his upcoming Shujaat Saudagar helmed ‘Rock On!! 2’, said to Indian Express, ““The only word, I think, that comes to mind is unfortunate, because it has set a terrible precedent.”

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had played mediator between Karan Johar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. The MNS had earlier said that it won’t allow the film to be released, if Karan was not going to replace Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in the film.

“It’s not even the government telling you what you should be doing and not doing. So who are you listening to? You are listening to the people who are threatening you with violence. Now, when you have the threat of violence, it’s not only about you. You have kids at home, you have a family. Why do you want to subject them to that? At the end of the day, it’s really unfortunate that this is the state of affairs,” Farhan further elaborated.

The army itself had shunned the money and condemned Thackeray’s extortionist politics.

Farhan, who’s been busy with the promotions of his film, queried, “By all means pass a law. If you pass a law, you are representing the voice of the people. We’ve elected you to do it, so by all means pass a law. But don’t hold that standard only for the film industry. Why only the film industry? Because we are easy targets. Why don’t you stop business between India and Pakistan, this two billion dollars of business that happens every single year. Stop it, go the whole hog. This is like window dressing.”

The ‘Wazir’ actor also said that Johar had signed Fawad at a time when cultural exchange and peace between the neighbouring countries were being encouraged, with prime minister Narendra Modi himself visiting Pakistan.
“People were encouraging exchange, our Prime Minister travelled there. It was an air, an environment of optimism, an environment of wanting bridges to be made. That’s the environment you started functioning in. Now, if that’s changed, you cannot hold this person by his throat and say that what you have done is wrong, and force you to say things and force you to pay money,” he concluded.