Dawn Images

Enterprising movie-watchers will always find ways to watch a film apparently out of their reach, and Sonam Kapoor has just experienced this firsthand.

The Bollywood star conducted a live chat with fans on Bollywood Hungama, where she says she discovered that her latest film Neerja, banned here for portraying Pakistan in a negative light, has "done well in [the country]."

At a press conference the next day, Sonam expressed her disappointment:

“The film has not released officially there, but it is very sad that this has happened. Today I was doing a live chat and there are several of my fans who are from Pakistan… Since my films have done well in Pakistan, they’re all watching pirated copies of the film over there," she said, according to Indian Express.

“It’s a matter of sadness, I am very disappointed,” the actress added.

Neerja is a biopic of the heroic air hostess Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life to save passengers on board the hijacked Pan Am flight 73 in September 1986. The film, which released in India on February 19, was banned in Pakistan for showing the country in a poor light.

Also read: The censor board in India is starting to show maturity, says Shabana Azmi

Sonam, who plays the titular role, put down the ban to Pak-India politics:

“I can’t understand it, but I think this is all politics between both sides. I had said this before, there is no place for politics in art and sports and unfortunately that’s what has happened,” she said.

“It is very sad that it’s not released in Pakistan, because more than 60 years ago, we were the same country. When I was in boarding school, Indians and Pakistanis would always hang out. We look similar, have a similar culture… Except for cricket matches, we were always together. I can’t understand the reason why it’s not released there, it can’t be that complicated,” Sonam added.