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Reactions to Bollywood’s latest anti-Pakistan propaganda piece, Dhurandhar, have been mixed on both sides of the border. While many acknowledged the film was well-made, most saw through its big-budget production and found yet another Indian attempt to paint its neighbour in a negative light.

Actor Imran Abbas joined the chorus on Wednesday, posting a story on Instagram calling out the filmmakers for turning films “into vehicles of hatred, hostility and division.”

The star said this “wasn’t about India or Pakistan”, but rather about “a dangerous misuse of cinema itself”. Art, he said, was “meant to uplift hearts” and not “poison minds”.

Abbas said, “Cinema should build bridges, not glorify prejudice,” adding, “It should awaken empathy.” He said, “hatred dressed up as art…may earn profits and applause, but it leaves behind scars”.

The actor, who has acting credits on some Bollywood films himself, acknowledged the power of narratives, saying, “What we normalise on screen slowly settles into our collective conscience.” Art, he contended, “carries responsibility”.

Earlier on Tuesday, the actor posted his views on Facebook, condemning Pakistanis who watched and appreciated the film, calling their behaviour “truly shameful”.

Abbas said if Pakistan had made a similar film on India, all of Indian society would’ve come out against it, “which is totally justified and correct”. The film, he said, “slaps us in the face and calls it entertainment” and applauding it isn’t “open-mindedness” but “beghairati (shamelessness), loss of dignity and self respect”.

Abbas makes an important point about how artists have a responsibility towards society and how they should strive to make the world a better place through their work.

He’s also right to suggest art must bring people together, as it so often did not very long ago, when Indians and Pakistanis would bond over their shared cultural heritage — just check the comment section under any song from Coke Studio.

The unfortunate reality is, India’s radical politicisation of the media has come to a point where it is okay to demonise tens of millions of innocent people — both Pakistanis and India’s own muslims — and celebrate violence against them in the name of nationalism. It is okay to distort history and portray fiction as fact with the label of “inspired by true events”.

All that’s not okay is listening to ‘Jhol’ while looking at pictures of Fawad Khan.