Bollywood actor Vaani Kapoor was all set to star opposite Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in his Bollywood comeback film Abir Gulal. However, after the Pahalgam terror attack in April, the film faced backlash, and government sources told PTI that the movie would not be allowed to release in India. Amid this, all traces of the film’s promotional activity were removed from Vaani’s Instagram account. (Also Read: Vaani Kapoor on dealing with failure: I usually take it all on me)
Did Vaani Kapoor delete all posts related to Abir Gulal?
Soon after the Pahalgam attack, all posts related to Abir Gulal and Fawad Khan vanished from Vaani’s Instagram. From posters and teasers to behind-the-scenes moments, the promotional content disappeared from the actor’s profile. However, according to Times Now, the actor’s team clarified that Vaani herself did not delete the posts. The content was originally shared as Instagram collabs, and the actual deletion was done by the film’s production team, not Vaani. As a result, the posts were automatically removed from her profile as well.
This move came after the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani artistes, including Fawad Khan, Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, Atif Aslam and others, were restricted in India following the Pahalgam terror attack. Anyone attempting to access their profiles from within India is met with a blank page and a message that reads: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
For the unversed, Abir Gulal, a romantic drama helmed by Aarti S. Bagdi and produced by Vivek Agrawal, was scheduled to release in India on 9 May. However, following the attack in Pahalgam and rising political tension between Pakistan and India, government sources told PTI, “The movie Abir Gulaal, starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, will not be allowed to release in India.”
On 22 April, 26 people, mostly civilians, were gunned down in a terror attack in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam. It has been described as the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019. Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra and others condemned the attack. Pakistani actors such as Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan also expressed sorrow over the lives lost.
Vaani Kapoor’s recent and upcoming work
Meanwhile, Vaani was most recently seen in the Bollywood film Raid 2. The actor played the role of Ajay Devgn’s wife in the film. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the film also starred Saurabh Shukla, Riteish Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor and Supriya Pathak, among others, in key roles. She will next be seen in Badtameez Gill, which also stars Aparshakti Khurana, Paresh Rawal, Sheeba Chaddha, Richard Bhakti Klein, and Monica Chaudhary in pivotal roles. The release date is yet to be announced.
