Excitement is growing in cinema-mad India for the return of a movie star from Pakistan to its big screens after his long absence due to an industry ban on artists from the neighboring country. <\/p>\n
Fawad Khan, an actor, singer and producer with a huge following in India, announced his Bollywood comeback last week, sending fans into a frenzy, 18 months after an Indian court effectively ruled that a de facto industry ban on Pakistani talent imposed in 2016 was illegal. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe wait is over! Bringing love back to the big screen,\u201d Khan posted to Instagram last week, alongside a short teaser for the May 9 release of rom-com \u201cAbir Gulaal.\u201d <\/p>\n
The post set off a wave of excitement among fans on social media and on the streets of Mumbai, the home of Bollywood. <\/p>\n
\u201cSuper stoked to have an artist as talented as Fawad Khan back in Indian cinema,\u201d said marketing professional Phhagun Dev. \u201cYou have been missed.\u201d <\/p>\n
Manya Shiksharthi agreed. \u201cArt has the power to cross borders and connect people in ways nothing else can so hoping for the absolute best,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
India\u2019s multibillion-dollar movie industry produces around 1,500 to 2,000 films per year in more than 20 languages \u2013 more than any other country \u2013 and holds an outsized influence on the country\u2019s culture, identity and economy. <\/p>\n
While Pakistani and Indian performers have a long and storied history of collaboration, that came to an abrupt halt nine years ago after dozens of Indian soldiers were killed in a militant attack in the disputed Kashmir region that was followed by deadly clashes along the contested border. <\/p>\n
India blamed Pakistan for the attack, which Islamabad denied, and as tensions escalated between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association imposed a de-facto ban on Pakistani talent. <\/p>\n
Khan, the star of multiple hit Bollywood films, simply disappeared from Indian screens. Meanwhile, Pakistan has largely restricted Indian films from release in the country since 2016. <\/p>\n
Where Hindi cinema once reflected certain secular, democratic values championed by India\u2019s founding fathers, many critics say the industry has veered toward the right over the past decade \u2013 coinciding with the populist rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). <\/p>\n
Alarmed liberals and some industry insiders point to a string of recent blockbusters that they say perpetuate anti-Muslim stereotypes and sideline opposition views. <\/p>\n
Regardless of the political climate, a pathway for stars from Muslim-majority Pakistan to return to Bollywood was opened in 2023, when the Bombay High Court rejected a petition seeking a total ban on Pakistani actors from working in India. <\/p>\n
Such a move would be \u201ca retrograde step in promoting cultural harmony, unity and peace,\u201d the court ruled. <\/p>\n
Yet in Khan\u2019s home country, the film is not expected to release, upsetting fans and cinema lovers alike. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a fan of Pakistani dramas and Hindi cinema, I for one will be disappointed to miss out on the experience of watching this creative collaboration, starring one of our most celebrated superstars,\u201d said Lahore-based freelance journalist and communications expert Abbas Hussain. <\/p>\n
Once a single nation, India and Pakistan were hastily divided by their departing British colonial ruler along religious lines with devastating results, giving rise to one of the world\u2019s fiercest geopolitical rivalries. <\/p>\n
In the nearly eight decades since, the two countries have fought three wars and introduced heavy restrictions on travel and exchanges of goods, despite sharing a border, a culture and a deeply intertwined history. <\/p>\n
Among that shared culture is a nearly universal love for cinema. <\/p>\n
Khan\u2019s new movie \u201cAbir Gulaal\u201d references the Hindu festival of colors Holi in its title. Set in London, it tells \u201ca love story filled with unexpected turns,\u201d according to its synopsis. <\/p>\n
In the teaser, Khan serenades Indian actor Vaani Kapoor to the tune of a popular Hindi love song. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbir Singh, are you flirting?\u201d she asks Khan. \u201cDo you want me to?\u201d he replies. <\/p>\n
Khan\u2019s impending return to Bollywood is \u201cheartening news,\u201d Indian film critic and analyst Tanul Thakur said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt also reminds us what art can truly achieve: collapsing national boundaries, bringing people closer, and giving the fans a reason to smile,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Anisha Pal, 26, a movie fan and marketing professional from Kolkata, echoed that sentiment. \u201cI am extremely happy to see him back in Bollywood,\u201d she said. \u201cArt and artists shouldn\u2019t get affected by politics. I think his return sends out a message of hope.\u201d <\/p>\n
But not everyone is happy. Politicians from India\u2019s Hindu-nationalist far right blasted the news of Khan\u2019s return and have vowed to derail his film\u2019s release. <\/p>\n
\u201cDespite saying so many times that films by Pakistani artists will not be released in India, some nasty people still try to push their agenda,\u201d the president of the cinema wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional party in Bollywood\u2019s home state, wrote on X last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not let the film release in India and that\u2019s final. Those who want to support Pakistani artists are free to do so, but just remember that you will have to face us.\u201d <\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time Khan has faced the wrath of India\u2019s Hindu right. <\/p>\n
In 2022, his movie \u201cThe Legend of Maula Jatt\u201d \u2013 Pakistan\u2019s highest grossing film of all time \u2013 was banned from release in India following threats from the far-right. <\/p>\n
Despite the hostility of right-wing politicians, many Indian fans say they are open to seeing more Pakistani stars on their screens. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been loved by the Indian audience too,\u201d said Tania Rao, a teacher from Delhi. <\/p>\n
\u201cTalent should be appreciated and seen beyond boundaries\u2026 I\u2019m excited to see a good actor given a good film, and more hopeful if it aids to sooth the tension that always seems to exist between India and Pakistan.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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