Ek Tarfa Pyar Ki Taqat Hi Kuch Aur Hoti Hai
Auron Ke Rishton Ki Tarah Yeh Do Logon Mein Nahi Bat’ti
Sirf Mera Haq Hai Ispe
Shahrukh Khan was indeed right when he said Ek tarfa pyaar ki taqat hi kuch aur hoti hai. Unrequited love is an emotion unlike any other. It gives you pain; it tears you apart, and most importantly it kills your emotions.
Javed Akhtar walked into Pakistan recently for an appearance at the Faiz Ahmed Faiz Festival in Lahore. Images of the Indian poet/screenwriter entering Pakistan through Wagah surfaced last week and gathered love from Pakistanis online.
Love and Celebration
The initial response to Javed Akhtar’s attendance was one of love and celebration. Pakistani’s rejoiced over the poet’s attendance at the Faiz Festival and welcomed this as a harbinger of change.
The internet was thronged with posts applauding Javed Akhtar for his brave stance, and for putting art over borders.
What Happened?
Once the early fanfare of the Faiz Festival in Lahore ended, and videos from the event started surfacing online, viewers noticed a rather peculiar statement from Javed Akhtar.
Responding in Urdu to a question from an audience member at the gathering, he said, “The 26/11 attackers weren’t from Norway, or from Egypt. They are still present in your country, so you should not be offended if an Indian complains about this.” He also said that while India has hosted several Pakistani artists in the past, Pakistan has never hosted singer Lata Mangeshkar.
The video has been shared across both countries, with Kangana Ranaut even calling it as ‘ghar main ghus ker maara’.
Not only this, Javed Akhtar went back home to give another interview to NDTV, where he said the audience applauded his comments on the Mumbai attack. When asked about the audience’s response to his remark, Javed said in an interview to NDTV, “They all clapped. They agreed with me. There are many people who admire India, want to have a relationship with us. We tend to think of countries as monolith. That is not the case. How do we connect with millions of people, who want to connect with India.”
Actress Amar Khan has, however, clarified the clapping and said the audience clapped over the mention of Lata Mangeshkar and not over Javed’s claims regarding terrorists in Pakistan.
Adding Salt to the Wound
While Pakistani’s online were still reeling from the impact of the politically influenced statement, videos from the Faiz Festival presented an interesting take into the situation.
In a video shared by multiple celebrities, Javed Akhtar can be seen crowded by Adeel Hashmi, Ali Zafar, and Sarwat Gillani among a few notable artists. The love, camaraderie, and respect, which was previously cherished, was now looked down upon in Pakistani social circles.
Internet went abuzz with contrasting views from celebs and influencers. Anoushey Ashraf was the first to call a spade a spade and highlighted the issue in her tweet.
Saboor Aly then posted an Insta story blasting celebs for not giving the same respect to local talent.
Actress Resham, who was also in attendance at the Faiz Festival, and can be seen in a viral video alongside Javed Akhtar, also came out to clarify her stance. Resham said she was unaware of Javed Akhtar’s previous statement, and would always uphold the nation’s pride and sovereignty.
What Do We Make of It?
Love always wins over hate. At least that is what we are expected to believe. For a good part of the last decade, our celebrities have rejoiced at the sight of an Indian celeb, kept politics away from art, and tried their luck at harmonizing relations between the two countries.
Be it Fahad Mustafa gushing over Govinda at an award ceremony, or Sarwat Gillani posting a fan note for Javed Akhtar after meeting him, Pakistani celebrities have celebrated the art and the artist from across the border.
However, there comes a time in life when every unrequited lover calls it a day. And that time seems to have arrived. We will still cherish that occasional Shahrukh Khan poster, still sing along to a Lata Mangeshkar melody; but, as long as the Kangana Ranaut’s, Himesh Reshammiya’s, and even the Javed Akhtar’s of India politicize every platform and pander to the radical Indian, our love will be long lost.
For now, we grieve, because nothing grieves more deeply or pathetically than one half of a great love that isn’t meant to be.
