Banning artistes from Pakistan is not a solution: Karan Johar

Indian filmmaker Karan Johar has said, following the attack on the Indian army in Uri, that boycotting artistes from Pakistan is not a solution to terrorism

The Bollywood director said his heart bleeds for the lives lost in the Uri attack and he understands the anger in the country, but it does not make any sense linking it with artistes coming from the neighbouring country, reported The Times of India.

Johar's comment comes after threats from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to Pakistani artistes which demanded them to leave India, or they will be forced to leave.

"I understand the anger and the anguish that surrounds us and I empathise, my heart bleeds for the lost lives. There is nothing that can justify this terrible feeling of terror. Then you are faced in a situation such as this (asking for ban on Pakistani artistes). If this was truly a solution, one would take it," the director asserted.

"But this is not a solution. I don't believe it is. The larger forces have to come together and sort the situation and this cannot be banning talent or art."

The 44-year-old filmmaker also said he feels 'vulnerable' while speaking about it publicly.

"I feel vulnerable and scared while even saying this. I completely feel the pain and anger. If my film is targeted because of this, it will make me exceptionally sad because my intent was to put out a product out of love and nothing else."

Johar requested the people to look at the issue holistically and understand the situation. He also said that the situation needs to be looked at from a larger perspective, and an answer needs to be found.

"I am not somebody who can find the answer. I am nobody in that scheme of things. I am just a filmmaker, telling a love story. Today I feel, I am a vulnerable soft target. I have faced it, felt the repercussions of it in the past and I have constantly combated that," added the film director.

"I think we should not be those soft targets anymore. We don't matter in the scheme of things but we can make things happier and better," he said.

Earlier, Indian nationalist party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) gave a "direct threat" to Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar for casting Pakistani actors in their films.

Shalini Thackeray, general secretary of MNS Chitrapat Karamchari Sena, had said, “It is not a veiled threat. It’s a direct threat to producers like SRK and Karan Johar who take Pakistani actors in their movies."

Referring specifically to Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film Raees alongside Mahira Khan and Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with cameo's of Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas, Thackeray plans to cease the release of these films in India.