Karan Johar responds to MNS threat over Pak actors

Karan Johar is the latest Bollywood star to speak out against the threats by the MNS party in India.

On Friday, the political party threatened Pakistani actors working in Bollywood to get out within 48 hours or be forced out. The names that came up were Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, both of whom have booming careers in Bollywood.

Talking to NDTV, Johar said, “I understand the anger and the anguish, that surrounds us. I empathise and my heart bleeds for the lost lives. There is nothing that can ever explain or justify this terrible feeling of terror. It is saddening. It is heartbreaking. Terrorism is not an answer to anything. Then you are faced, in a situation such as this (ban on Pakistani artists). If this was truly a solution, then one would take it. But this is not a solution. I believe there are larger forces that have to come together and sort the situation out and this cannot be banning talent or art. But I feel vulnerable and scared while even saying this and I completely feel the pain and anger, as an Indian citizen.”

Johar’s next film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ stars Fawad and is also being threatened by the party. Talking about this, Johar said, “Today if my film is going to be targeted because of this, it will make me exceptionally sad because my intent was always to put out a creative product of love and nothing else.”

Asked how he would deal with the threats, he said, “I don’t know. I beseech everyone to look at it very holistically and understand the situation, that there is a larger situation here and it has nothing to do with banning talent. Let’s look at it in a larger perspective and find that answer. I am not somebody who can find the answer. I am nobody in that scheme of things. I am a filmmaker, telling a love story. Today I feel, I am a vulnerable soft target. I have felt it, I have faced the repercussions of it in the past and I have constantly combated that on various films.”

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