A clash has erupted between two of the most talented directors of Bollywood on the much discussed topic of banning Pakistani actors from Bollywood. It’s not a usual box office clash, but a war of words. Hours after director Anurag Kashyap targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an apology for his trip to Pakistan in December of last year, Madhur Bhandarkar slammed the former for his protest.
Anurag Kashyap is opposing the ban on Karan Johar’s “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” as Fawad Khan is a part of the movie. The director in a series of tweets demanded an apology for the Prime Minister’s unscheduled visit to Nawaz Sharif on December 25, 2015. Considering that both the events were happening at the same time, opposing one is not right according to the director. “Whatever Anurag Kashyap said is wrong, neither BJP nor the Government issued any ban, it has become a trend to protest against Modi Ji”, said Bhandarkar.
“Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” faced a backlash after the Maharashtra Nannirman Sena demanded a ban on all the movies starring Pakistani artistes in Indian cinema, challenging them to leave India. Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI) had, on Saturday, announced that they would not screen movies starring Pakistani artistes in the four states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa. The decision taken by the COEAI mainly covers single screen theatres and comes amid tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack last month.
