Raees producer Farhan Akhtar says no to MNS' 5 crore demand
MNS has already coerced Karan Johar to pay 5 crore to the army as penance for casting a Pakistani actor
Pak-India cultural exchange gained a new supporter on Thursday as Congress MS Shashi Tharoor spoke in its favour at the Tata Literature Live Festival in Mumbai.
"We should welcome creative people, artistes and genuine businessmen (from Pakistan) to India," said Tharoor.
"We have to create a 'home away from home' situation for them," he added, saying that hostility between the two countries "can be a mood but not a policy".
Tharoor also criticised the Maharashtra government for its handling of the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil controversy.
Post the Uri attacks in Kashmir, the MNS launched an anti-Pakistani campaign and announced that it would oppose the release of films starring Pakistani actors. The political party threatened Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan, whose films Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees featured Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan respectively.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which came out on October 28, was released after a deal was struck that producer Karan Johar would pay 5 crores to the Army Welfare Fund as penance.
Openly criticising the government, Tharoor said, "Certainly no Congress Chief Minister would have ever negotiated (with outfits like MNS)."
Tharoor was speaking at a debate on 'India and Pakistan can never be friends' during the literary festival.