A lot has been said and done about banning Pakistani actors in Bollywood movies. In one of the most hard-hitting turn of events, Raj Thackeray had announced a payment of 5 crore by every producer that chooses to use Pakistani actor in their movie.
It is a well-known fact that Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming release, Raees, stars Pakistani actress Mahira Khan who plays the female lead. There has been a lot of speculation about whether the much anticipated film will see the light of the day, but it seems King Khan has sorted it out.
This picture of SRK at Raj Thackeray’s residence made its way on the web, and sources say that the agenda of the meeting was to discuss Mahira’s presence in Raees. It was also confirmed that Mahira won’t be a part of Raees’ promotions in the near future.
The director of the movie, Rahul Dholakia on the other hand vehemently stated,
“If we find it necessary to bring her here and involve her in the promotions, of course, she will come. I don’t think there is any restriction for her from the government.”
The fact of the matter is – Are Bollywood stars, that are looked up to by millions of their fans, going to succumb to bullying?
While some stars have gone on record and timed their patriotism with the marketing of their movie (Shivaay), some have given in to the pressure and apologized for BASIC CREATIVE freedom through a video (Karan Johar). Some have been bold enough to stand tall and refuse to bow down (Farhan Akhtar) and some have conveniently remained silent (Rest of Bollywood)
Shah Rukh Khan could have very well refuted or put forth a logical argument and taken up a cause that could have changed the course of so many artists and movies. However, him going to make peace with Raj Thackeray and agreeing to his unreasonable demands pretty much leaves no scope for the rest of the Bollywood fraternity to do anything but follow suite.
If this is an example Bollywood is setting (which by the way is not even the first time Bollywood is starting a god-awful trend), does that mean creative freedom, safety and power are running out of the cinematic window?
