Pahalgam attack: Indians demand ban on Fawad Khan’s ‘Abir Gulaal’

Following Tuesday’s attack on a tourist spot in the Pahalgam area of held Kashmir, several Indian film organisations and social media users have started calling for a boycott of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s upcoming Bollywood film ‘Abir Gulaal’.

While Pakistan has officially rejected Indian media’s propaganda hinting at cross-border involvement in the deadly attack that claimed 26 lives, hardliners are using the tragic incident as a reason to demand that not only should Abir Gulaal be banned, but no Pakistani actor should be cast in any future Indian productions.

While Abir Gulaal marks Fawad’s return to Bollywood, social media continues to flood with posts questioning why Pakistani actors were still being featured in Indian films.

Some users recalled a similar situation from 2016, when Fawad’s film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was released shortly before an attack on an Indian Army base in Uri, which left 19 soldiers dead. The incident had triggered a cultural freeze between the two neighbouring countries, banning each other’s artists and content.

Now, nearly a decade later, Fawad’s return-to-Bollywood film, co-starring Indian actress Vaani Kapoor, is set to release on May 9, and promotional events are currently underway in Dubai. However, renewed tensions have once again put a question mark on the film’s fate.

While the film’s production team has shown no intention of delaying the release, it merits a mention that Hindu extremist groups had objected to the film even before the Pahalgam attack, forcing the makers to hold all promotions outside India.