They say art has no boundaries so it should neither be restricted by geopolitical situations nor by any other division. There have been several successful and exciting collaborations between Pakistan and Indian over the decades. While several Indian artists visited Pakistan and worked in dramas and films, many of our renowned artists made Pakistan proud through their craft in the neighbouring country.
However, the scenario changed entirely when political situations started to get intensified and Pakistani artists got restricted to work in India. Before the restrictions were imposed several artists from our fraternity were offered Bollywood movies. One such is the ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ star Hamza Ali Abbasi, who recently revealed in an interview, that he was offered superhit and acclaimed Bollywood films including ‘Baby’ and ‘Judwaa 2’.
The actor appeared in a digital chat show for the promotions of ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ where he was asked about the Bollywood offer, which he refused back in 2015. Talking about ‘Judwaa 2’ of Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez starrer, he shared that filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala approached him for the feature film. To which the ‘Pyaare Afzal’ star told: “Maybe because India and Pakistan have been at arm’s length and there were certain scenes in that film that I wasn’t comfortable with”.
Earlier, the ‘Jawani Phir Nahi Aani’ actor also spoke about refusing Akshay Kumar’s political thriller film ‘Baby’, certainly due to its anti-Pakistan narrative. While sharing about the incident Hamza Ali Abbasi said: “I was offered this Indian film Baby last year and I immediately said no to it, seeing a slight anti-Pakistan element in its storyline. I am in favour of our artists working in Indian films, but if any film has even a slight anti-Pakistan theme, please think like a Pakistani first and then an artist”.
Hamza Ali Abbasi has been vocal about the respect and honour of Pakistani artists in the Indian Film Industry through his social media. He has also often shared his stance on the entire scenario. Well, what’s right and what’s not is not a debate we would like to get into, however, different perspectives should be respected, as this is what art is about. What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments section.
