Following the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday, April 22, sources within the government, as per a The Indian Express report, assert that the film Abir Gulaal, which was set to be Fawad Khan’s Bollywood comeback, will not be seeing through its India release, at least for the time being. This falls right in line with the diplomatic responses to the sickening act of terror, ranging from the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty as well as SAARC visas.
The ban, unsurprisingly, has been met with a rather positive response from the audience. To quote a few reactions: “Should ban pakistani tv serials and all source of entertainment coming out from there”, “May be its wrong to punish someone for someone else’s heinous crime but I guess we should put our country first”, “Really happy about the decision. They should never have gotten a paki actor. Is there a lack of indian actors that we need to go to Pakistan”, “Good nobody was gonna watch this trash anyways” and “Well deserved”.
Fawad Khan, over a day after the attack, took to his social media handle to express his condolences over the situation. In an Instagram story upload, he expressed, “Deeply saddened to hear the news of the heinous attack in Pahalgam. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrifying incident, and we pray for strength and healing for their families in this difficult time”.
Vaani, who features in the now-blocked film opposite the Pakistani actor, also expressed grief over the attack: “Have been numb, at a loss for words since the time I saw the attack on innocent people in Pahalgam. Gutted. Devastated. My prayers are with the families”.
This of course, is not the first time a Fawad Khan X Bollywood crossover has come under major fire. As a matter of fact, after Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) this is the second time an Indian Fawad Khan release has been caught in a whirlwind of controversy. Not just these two titles, his Pakistani hit, The Legend of Maula Jatt (2022) was also stalled from a pending India release owing to protests from a far-right Hindu group.
Circling back to Abir Gulaal, earlier today, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), issued a statement directly addressing the film’s supposed May 9 release (now canned) and calling for a “blanket boycott on all Pakistani artistes, singers, and technicians participating in any Indian film or entertainment projects”.
