Mumbai : In an exclusive interview with IANS, IFTDA President Ashok Pandit expressed strong disapproval of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s involvement in the Bollywood film Abir Gulal. He emphasized that this is a sensitive national issue. Following the Pulwama attack, FWICE, IMPA, and WIFPA had jointly urged the industry not to engage Pakistani artists or technicians. Pandit stated that the Federation is deeply shocked and will soon hold a meeting to decide on the next steps.
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#IFTDA #AshokPandit #FawadKhan #AbirGulal #Bollywood #PakistaniArtists #PulwamaAttack #FWICE #IMPA #WIFPA #BollywoodNews #FilmIndustry #Controversy #NationalInterest #Mumbai #Maharashtra
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00:00FEDERATION OF WESTERN INDIA CINEMA EMPLOYEES
00:05FEDERATION OF WESTERN INDIA CINEMA EMPLOYEES
00:07have taken this issue of release of the film where
00:12Fawad Khan is the main lead very seriously.
00:17It is a question of being insensitive towards a cause
00:22which concerns our country.
00:24Fawad is a Pakistani actor and post Pulwama attack
00:30when it happened, FEDERATION OF WESTERN INDIA CINEMA EMPLOYEES,
00:34major producer institutions like IMPA, Western WIFPA,
00:38all had come together and issued an appeal saying that
00:45nobody should entertain or involve any Pakistani artist or technician
00:52in their projects. And everybody was very serious about it.
00:58We are very shocked and we are very serious about it.
01:06And we have taken very serious note of it.
01:12So FEDERATION in its meeting very soon will decide the course of action.
01:19We are hurt. We have taken this matter on a higher level
01:26as far as the FEDERATION is concerned, various organizations.
01:30And it's quite important to understand for me to inform you
01:36that the FEDERATION will very soon issue a fresh order
01:42which is called non-cooperation.
01:45Now actors like Vani Kapoor and all those technicians,
01:49all those people who have worked in this film are going to face resistance
01:55from a lot of people in the industry because they have behaved insensitive.
02:01They have behaved as if they have nothing to do with the country.
02:04And they are above such seriousness as far as terror attacks
02:12and security risk of this country is concerned.
02:15So we are taking a very serious note of it and we are going to take action
02:19against those people who have not heard or understood the seriousness of this issue.
02:33As I said, it's basically being insensitive towards the cause of our country.
02:38That is the basic premise. They think that they are above such things and it doesn't make any difference to them.
02:43And you see, one thing one has to understand that normally, you know,
02:49some people come out and say that artists are beyond nations, artists are beyond country.
02:56This is a line which I use normally, you know. Now I want to ask all these people,
03:02from the core of my heart, I want to ask one thing.
03:05All these attacks on our country, we lost thousands of people in this country because of Pakistan.
03:11Tell me one Pakistani artist, tell me one Pakistani performer or any person
03:20who has condemned this attack and has said that this should have not happened
03:25to the soldiers of this country or innocents of this country or common people of this country.
03:32Nobody, no one till now, from Pakistan, whether they are artists or whatever it is,
03:38or sportsmen or anybody for that matter, has condemned the gruesome attacks committed by their country on us.
03:44So, if you think that you are above something, above nation, I think it's very important for you to be punished.
03:54And not only me, I think the entire country and nation will react to this film.
04:01I am sure nobody is going to go and watch this film. There will be a protest.
04:04People will come on the streets to protest because it is a matter of our country.
04:10When you refuse to play in Pakistan cricket, I think it's high time that we, as artists,
04:19also should learn to be sensitive because nation comes first.
04:23This is another area where we are very seriously contemplating that musicians,
04:33as far as singers are concerned, they are gone overboard. You know, they perform with them in Dubai,
04:41they perform with them in London, they perform with them abroad. They don't perform with them in this country of ours.
04:46But the matter is that you are identifying yourself, you are correlating with people who belong to a country
04:55which is a terror nation. And those people are responsible for innocent lives in this country of ours.
05:04So, you are insulting the families of security forces. You are insulting all those families
05:09who have lost near and dear ones in their homes, you know, in their families.
05:14So, you cannot be that insensitive. So, we are taking really a very serious note on this.
05:20As far as the singers are concerned, as far as the performers are concerned, that this is not, this will not be tolerated now.
05:28You know, we have been quite occasionally seeing this because we come to know after the performances have happened,
05:36after the shows have happened. And we will appeal to the government of India. We will appeal to the INB ministry.
05:42We will be appealing to the Home Ministry now, Federation and other institutions, that kindly issue an order,
05:52issue an order that till the time India and Pakistan's cordial relations are not okay,
05:58till that time, we should not be a party to any kind of events with them.
06:05You see, as I said earlier, people will come on the streets. Whether it is a political party,
06:17whether it is a common man, I as a person from the industry would not like this film to release.
06:24I am not happy with the arrogance of the producer, arrogance of the team, arrogance of the
06:30heroine of the film, Vani Kapoor, who agreed to perform with a Pakistani actor.
06:41The fault lies with us, not with them. They consider India as an ATM center for them.
06:46They have minted crores in this country. That country as it is, it's totally finished.
06:52You know, economically and otherwise also. So, they find an opportunity, great opportunity of making money,
07:00minting money, making business in this country of ours. So, that's my take is,
07:04why should our country become an ATM center for Pakistani performers and Pakistani artists?
07:10One Pakistani performer has not condemned what their country has done to us.
07:15My serious take is that, you know, we are very clear on this, boss.
07:21Then they are not emotionally attached with you. Why should you be an ATM center for them?
07:29Why should we feed them for that matter?
07:37See, I don't think this will ever happen because Pakistan believes in violence.
07:42Pakistan believes in terror. Pakistan believes in, it doesn't believe in peace.
07:48It doesn't believe in inclusive growth. It believes in trouble, which this country doesn't believe in.
07:55So, we cannot come together ever because the entire culturally we are different.
08:03Attitude wise we are different. Education wise we are different. And our agendas are different.
08:09We believe in a growth. We believe in living with the world. We believe in humanity.
08:14We believe in oneness. We believe in secularism. We believe in growth.
08:19But that country doesn't belong to. That's why this country is going from, that country is going from down,
08:23is going more and more towards down. It's never risen. So, why should we even identify
08:30ourselves with a country which doesn't believe in humanity?
08:39See, I on an individual level would like to appeal to my industry, my industry, artist fraternity,
08:48technician fraternity, everyone for that matter, that we owe our loyalty towards our country.
08:54And we cannot be, we cannot be a party to or identify ourselves with a country
09:05which has killed thousands and thousands of our people.