Daily Times

MUMBAI: As Indian actors and directors remains divided on MNS call for ban on Pakistani actors, Abhay Deol has called out the hypocrisy of the ban like a boss.

Emerging as one of the voices of clarity on the issue, the Happy Bhaag Jayegi actor called out the hypocrisy of the ban on cross-border talent saying it shouldn’t be restricted to the entertainment industry only.

Abhay opened up about the on-going controversy of the screening of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, at the opening of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) festival. “If you want to ban anything to do with Pakistan, then go the distance. Don’t just ban filmmakers. Why are you doing a half-hearted job?” Abhay told ANI.

“Ban the business dealings, the import, the export because when you do half a job no one will take you seriously. I don’t take the government seriously because they are only banning us from collaborating with artistes. They are not banning businessmen from making business.

“So, if you really mean what you say, then go the distance. Then I will take you seriously. Right now it is not looking like you mean it, it just looks like it gets you a lot of publicity and makes a lot of noise,” he added. But really what is the point of it? I will support it if you think banning anything to do with Pakistan is going to help our jawans, fine.

“But I don’t see the whole distance. I see one little thing looked at and banned and another part being left. Sounds hypocritical to me,” he added.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar shared the same sentiments. “It is very unfortunate that a film and a filmmaker gets targeted like that. Karan Johar didn’t do anything wrong, he has not broken the law. Visas are being granted by government, its legal for people to work here,” she said.

The Indian government official earlier suggested that the government has no plans to revoke visas granted to Pakistani artistes working in India.