Following the Uri attacks, a ban on Pakistani artists
like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Mowra Hocane among others was demanded by many
Indians. This lead to a huge debate and many people, especially in Bollywood
got divided over this issue.
Bollywood celebrities including filmmaker Karan Johar and
actor Suresh Oberoi, expressed their anguish over MNS threat to Pakistani
artists to leave India, saying ban is not a solution to terrorism.
Johar, whose upcoming directorial venture "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" stars
Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, says his heart bleeds for the lives lost in the Uri
terror attack and he understands the anger in the country but boycotting
artistes from the neighboring country is no solution to terrorism.
Voicing his opinion, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt had said that
India should push for declaring Pakistan as a terrorist state, but should not
drag actors into the situation.
"We should concentrate on making sure that Pakistan is declared a
terrorist state. That should be our effort. This (asking Pak actors to leave)
is like trivialising the issue-- whether artists or cricket should be allowed
nor not...
"How does that matter? What matters is that people are dying, we have been
constantly suffering... And the only thing we do is ban artists!" he said.
Film critic Mayank Shekhar had also criticised MNS saying culture is apolitical
and when government of India has given permission to Pakistani actors to work
here, any other political outfit should not "spread fear" among
people.
Meanwhile, comedian Raju Srivastava has cancelled his upcoming show in Karachi,
saying he can't be making jokes and be funny at a time when Indian soldiers are
getting killed.
"I was invited to do a comedy show in Pakistan but every day we see that
our soldiers are getting killed at the border.
In this situation how can I go and make people laugh there?
"I don't want to go to Pakistan. Our country is good.
Here we have brotherhood, respect and love. We are happy here.
I won't go to Pakistan to do the show" he wrote on Twitter.
Veteran actor Nana Patekar on Sunday said that the time
is not right for Pakistan artists to work in India. Making a comment on why
it's not the right time for the Pakistani artists to work in India, he said,
"This is not the right time for them to work in the
country. Country comes first, then artists."
When he was further asked to comment on how Bollywood is
standing divided over the ban on Pakistani actors, he said,
"I was in Army and I have spent two and half years
there. So I know who our biggest heroes are. No one can be a bigger hero than
our Army men. Our original heroes are our jawans."
Backing his opinion, Nana Patekar concluded by saying,
"First stands my country, I don’t know anyone beyond
my country neither would I want to know. An artist is very small in front of
the country."
And now here we read an open letter written by Major
Gaurav Arya on this issue of banning Pakistani artists has gone viral and
the pointers mentioned in it are spot on.
Read the letter below from the view of a soldier and what
your support to Pakistanis can create consequences :-
Our boys have just about returned from across the Line of Control after a very successful surgical strike. The entire nation is delirious with joy; the entire nation, except a few. Today, I was part of a panel discussion in JNU, interestingly called “Intellectual Terrorism”. The term is self-explanatory, though wide ranging. I will discuss one type of intellectual terrorism here.
The proponents of this type of terror are to found in every walk of life, but the roots of this disease are embedded in some institutions of higher learning. More of that some other time. Karan Johar wants to know if asking Fawad Khan to go back to Pakistan will stop terror. Mahesh Bhatt joins the chorus by saying “stop terrorism, not talks” implying that we must continue to talk to Pakistan. The cricket board will continue to play matches with Pakistan. Certain business houses will continue to do business with Pakistan. All this, while our soldiers are dying on the border.
Will sending Pakistani artists back, stopping cricket and business with Pakistan actually end terror from Pakistan? No, it most certainly will not. But there is an emotion called solidarity. You cannot make films, play cricket and do business as if everything is fine, because it is not. It makes the soldier wonder aloud, “Why should I alone bear the weight of conflict?”
This conflict between India and Pakistan is not the soldier’s personal war. He is dying and killing for you and me. Imagine a situation in which the soldier felt, and behaved, like Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt? Imagine if a soldier walked up to his superior and said, “Sir, while I am dying on the Line of Control, these people are going about as if everything is absolutely fine between the two countries.”How many of you would like it if a soldier felt that this was not his personal war, and he, like Mahesh Bhatt, should walk across the Line of Control and shake hands with a Pakistani soldier? Why should he alone sacrifice for India, when others were making merry? A soldier will die before the thinks of such treason, but its certainly food for thought, isn’t it?
Patriotism and sacrifice is not the sole responsibility of the soldier. India is Mahesh Bhatt’s country, as much as it is the soldier’s.The United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and the Russians did likewise when they boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. This is what happens when national interest is held paramount. And this is what must happen now. For 70 years, Pakistan has been killing Indian citizens.
Are we so inured to the pain of our fellow brethren that making a movie or playing a cricket match takes precedence over a soldier’s mourning home? 18 families have been shattered like glass. Not a word for them by our Bollywood royalty, mind you. But the pain of Fawad Khan’s departure is too much to bear, it seems.
A tweet in support of Pakistani artists is mandatory. These directors and producers will have you believe that before Rahat Fateh Ali Khan sang for Bollywood, there was no music of significance in the Hindi film industry.
The cricket board is so busy making money that a widow’s silent sob and an orphan’s scream does not matter. What actually matters are day and night matches between India and Pakistan.
The most keenly contested sporting event in history, they say; even better than the Ashes. And the soldiers? Well, as far as they are concerned, they are on another planet, far removed from the glitzy Bollywood studios, and the teak paneled walls of the stately boardrooms of the BCCI.
The blood, the mud, the screams and the exploding gunpowder are just distant and inconvenient, not very different from traffic during the Mumbai monsoons. Life must go on. Its easy to ask for peace when you are a thousand miles away from the Line of Control, and your primary concerns are which party to attend this evening and where to get financing for your next film.
Peace is not a punch line. It is the end result of war.
Jai Hind.
Major Gaurav Arya (Veteran)
When I saw the families of the 18 Uri Attack Martyrs, one of whom was going to get married soon, one of whose daughter went to take her exams the next day, and one whose son decided he’s going to avenge his father’s death by joining the army, a little part of me died inside. Look at me, writing this article, enjoying my cup of coffee, seating in the comfortable zone of my home.
And look at those men who’ve come back home wrapped in a tri-colour, leaving behind nothing but remorse and no monetary help whatsoever by the Government. What was my immediate reaction? Anger. A lot of it. I was angry. I felt helpless. How in the world can I show my emptiness, do anything about anything that’s happening on our border? I could feel 1 Billion Indians feel the same angst and pain.
Amidst all of this happening inside me and all around the country, the only question that rotates in my mind is ‘What is right, boycotting the Pakistani artist, Match, Business with them? Or just being in a state of war and still stay calm with fellow Pakistanis?’
I truly understand that not all of the members of enemy country can be terrorist, they are simple human beings living peacefully in their own life. But we must understand that, meanwhile we are making friendly relations with the member of enemy country, our soldiers are being killed by them and they are not fighting for any personal reason, it is all about the country.
If Bollywood is being friendly with fellow Pakistani artist and if BCCI is being liberal to play cricket with them and keep up the sports man spirit, why are only the soldiers responsible for desh bhakti?? As the major mentioned in his letter above, if the soldier would also go and be friendly to those standing beyond the Line of Control, they would never have to die, Right? Just imagine the circumstances where in our military would also think about being friendly, would you ever be able to sleep peacefully in the comfort zone of your homes? The constant fear would not let you live. Even the thought of it is so scary and unimaginable. But those soldiers are living under the sky of death daily, just so that you and me can sleep peacefully. It is our duty to support them and show our part of Desh Bhakti too by boycotting anyone and everyone from the enemy country. Let us all pledge to boycott movies that involve Pakistani artist, let us say no to watching India vs Pak cricket matches, let us not get involved in any kind of trade or business with this country, until and unless they stop killing our people. This would be just a small gesture to show respect to the martyrs who died for us and to those who are bravely fighting and protecting our borders.
If a country is our enemy, each and every citizen of the country is our enemy. That’s what I call the nationalism!!!
