Dawn Images

As tensions continue to simmer between India and Pakistan following a military escalation earlier this month, Pakistani artists remain at the heart of a complex cultural standoff. While the political climate has led to a renewed clampdown on Pakistani artists in India, actor Mahira Khan is calling for calm, and to invest in local entertainment.

Currently in the US to promote her upcoming film Love Guru alongside co-star Humayun Saeed, Khan addressed the issue of Pakistani artists being banned in India during a meet-and-greet session with fans.

The Raees star, who shared the screen with Shah Rukh Khan in her Bollywood debut before the 2016 ban on Pakistani actors, offered a layered take on the issue.

“I think we need to focus inwards, I think we need to focus on our own industries,” she said in response to a question.

“I’m not a person who believes in cancel culture. And I’m talking broadly. I do not believe in bans and stuff like that,” Khan added. Her comments come in the wake of renewed nationalistic fervour on both sides of the border, with the cultural boycott drawing fresh lines between the two film industries.

But for Khan, the answer isn’t tit-for-tat isolation. Instead, she emphasised the importance of emotional restraint and long-term investment in local talent.

“Of course, the situation is such that you are emotional, and you are very attached to your country. Your country is your country. But beyond that I think, instead of taking such a strong stance — that’s your prerogative — for us, I think it’s important that we invest in ourselves. Let’s start investing in us.”

Her remarks appear to reflect a growing sentiment within Pakistan’s creative circles, many of whom feel that while bans and restrictions may serve political optics, they do little to nurture the industries they claim to protect.

This isn’t the first time Khan has championed cross-cultural artistic freedom. After the 2017 cultural fallout between India and Pakistan, the very year Raees came out and she couldn’t be in India for its promotions, Khan expressed sadness over how politics had overshadowed her project.

In an interview with Images, she said, “I also want to promote the film. I also want to be in an interview with Shah Rukh Khan talking about it. Why not? Why is it that I get told that that’s asking for too much? It isn’t! It is my right. This was also my film.”

Now, in 2025, her message remains consistent but grounded in a call for cultural self-reliance. As Love Guru continues its international tour, Khan’s words serve not only as a reflection of her own journey navigating two industries but also as a reminder of the larger responsibility artists bear in times of division: to build, not boycott.