Dawn Images

Actor Ahsan Mohsin Ikram wants you to boycott Dhurandhar: The Revenge.

In a message to Pakistanis around the world, he appealed for a complete boycott of Aditya Dhar’s latest big-budget spy flick which portrays Pakistan — more specifically Karachi’s Lyari — as a global hub of terrorism.

The actor called the film “ultimate filth, Indian propaganda, garbage” drawing attention to its overtly nationalist and anti-Pakistan nature. He urged the government to use its diplomatic clout to get the film banned in allied countries.

Ikram said the support the film received from top-tier celebrities in Bollywood was a “total disgrace” and demonstrated the “hatred” that existed on Indian side for Pakistan. He also drew a religious parallel, claiming the same hatred existed for Islam and alleging right-wing Hindu funding and support for Bollywood.

The actor said, “It would be a crime for a Pakistani to buy a ticket for Dhurandhar and further fund and support this filth propaganda.” He urged Pakistani cinema-goers to not waste their time and instead support people who respect them, their country and their religion.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the second film in Dhar’s series of spy films, released worldwide on March 19 and has followed the success of the first film with global box office collections crossing INR13 billion.

Much like its predecessor, the film was blocked from releasing in states of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — according to Indian sources. These countries have large populations of Indian and Pakistani immigrants and have banned similar films in the past to prevent communal tensions.

Dhurandhar — the first one — also received its fair share of official and unofficial blowback from Pakistan. Actor Imran Abbas called out filmmakers for turning films into “vehicles of hatred” and admonished Pakistanis for buying into the hype around the film.

The provincial government in Sindh, apparently outraged by the negative portrayal of Lyari and certain political figures, announced it would make its own film, Mera Layari as a counter-narrative.

Audiences on social media were also quick to point out the film was blatant, unambiguous propaganda, with both Indian and Pakistani commentators saying it was a symptom of India’s cultural and social decline.

The solution, as posited by Pakistani users, was for the country to take ownership of its stories and speak its truth to the world.