Division in Bollywood after tense foreign affairs

The tensions between India and Pakistan following an attack on an Indian army camp at the border have translated to Bollywood as well.
There is a demand that Pakistani actors like Fawad Khan who work in Bollywood should condemn the terrorist attack. A political party known for its violence and parochialism had first demanded that they shouldn’t be allowed to work in India but since then the issue has gained traction with many Bollywood insiders. Strident elements in the Indian media have been demanding that Pakistani actors condemn terrorism.
An association of movie producers then said that they had imposed a ban on Pakistani actors working in Indian movies. The industry itself was divided on the issue. Those who are thought to be close to the government, like Anupam Kher, were at the forefront against Pakistani actors. Even someone like Javed Akhtar, who is usually a voice of reason, also said that they actors should condemn terrorism. Ajay Devgn said that he would not work with Pakistani actors for the moment.
There were those who thought that it was an unfair demand being made and that politics should not prevent the actors from working in India. Om Puri, for instance, came out in support of them arguing that they came with valid work permits and that to ban them would affect Indian filmmakers who have cast them. But he got some bad press when at a television discussion he was provoked into what was construed as an insensitive statement about a martyred Indian soldier. He then came again on television and quite dramatically said he was guilty and wanted to be hanged. Amusing as the incident was, it indicated how difficult it is for anyone to come out in support of Pakistani actors even if they want to.
Hema Malini, who is a member of Parliament for the ruling party, said she appreciated the work of Pakistani actors but wouldn’t comment on them working in Bollywood. Salman Khan who first made a statement that they were actors not terrorists and that the issues were not related also found himself being targeted by the media.
Kangana Ranaut, who is known to be outspoken, was very diplomatic when asked about her stand and said that it was hard to be objective in such an environment. Radhika Apte did speak against the ban on Pakistani actors but she was one of the rare ones who had the courage to come out in the open.

Spy in the household
For some time now there have been persistent rumours about Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur being in a relationship. They had come together in a movie, Fitoor, which released in February this year.
It is quite common for link up rumours between a hero and heroine to start when a movie is being made and released. Sometimes it is deliberately spread to create publicity for the movie.
But Fitoor bombed badly at the box office and the rumours gained in intensity following her break up with Ranbir Kapoor. It had made Katrina quite peeved with the media and she told all her staff members to not speak to them.
Recently she has even stopped posing for photos when photographers would spot her. It seems she has now located the source of these rumours. A gossip website said that she had found that it was her driver who was feeding it to some in the media in return for money.
It does however beg the question of whether there is any truth to the rumour of her relationship with Aditya or whether the driver supplying false information.

Fresh war
It was more or less expected. When Rakesh Roshan said in an interview recently that his son Hrithik would come out in public and explain whether he or Kangana Ranaut have had an affair or not, nobody expected the lady in question to take it lying down.
The issue had cooled down and Rakesh’s statement has now re-opened it. Because when asked to respond to the latest salvo, Kangana made a snide comment to the media that basically asked why men who were 43 years old couldn’t speak for themselves and needed their fathers to rescue them — and how long could they hide behind their influential fathers.
The barb seems to have hit home because Rakesh then responded to it by saying that for parents their children are children, whether they are 43 or 83 and he was proud to play an active part in his son’s life. Interestingly, when Hrithik was asked to comment on the latest controversy he chose to ignore the question altogether.

Family charges
Nawazuddin Siddiqui made the news recently and not all of it was positive. There was first an ugly family issue that became public. His brother’s wife who has instituted divorce proceedings has alleged that Nawazuddin’s family harassed her over dowry.
She also made a more direct charge that Nawazuddin himself physically assaulted her when she was pregnant. The actor has denied it of course and also released CCTV footage which he claims shows him not doing anything at all that night.
His counter charge is that his sister-in-law’s uncle had been extorting money from his brother and was trying to rob the house that day when the family ran towards the door hearing a commotion.
There was other news too about Nawazuddin. The Ramleela, a Hindu festival in which there are public performances of the mythological epic Ramayana, was going to feature Nawazuddin as a participant and performer for the first time. But then suddenly he pulled out, and said only that he did it to maintain peace.
It is speculated that a political party forced him to do it by organising protests against him using the complaint by his sister-in-law. He however has promised to be back for Ramleela next year and tweeted, ‘My childhood dream could not come true, but will definitely be a part of Ramleela next year.’

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