Adnan Siddiqui wants Indians to raise their tolerance level

We know that veteran actor Adnan Siddiqui is a self-appointed ambassador for Pakistan when it comes to cultural exchanges with other countries, be it Turkey or UK.

So when asked about the current non-existent relationship between India and Pakistan's entertainment industries, the actor didn't beat around the bush.

"I felt this shouldn't have happened. Politics and entertainment are two different things," he said on the show Hello! Mira Sethi. "I have nothing to do with politics; my job is to entertain people and I will continue to do that."

The topic came up when host and fellow actor Sethi asked the Meray Pass Tum Ho star about his experience working with the late Sridevi on the movie Mom alongside Sajal Aly, released in 2017.

"It was my third film and Sridevi's 300th and for her to still be so humble was a big thing. I cannot forget the first day on the set, she was sitting outside her vanity van when Boney [Kapoor] — film's producer and her husband — introduced me to her," he said.

"She stood up to greet me and gave me a warm welcome. She was very hospitable."

Asked if he was nervous on the first day, Siddiqui replied in the negative. "I had done my homework."

"The first day on the set, there was a pooja going on. For Sajal and me, we weren't sure how to stand there. So I observed people and just stood there in respect," he told Sethi.

As the two discussed the shooting of the movie in Delhi, Mumbai and Georgia, Sethi recalled the time, only a few years ago, when Pakistani actors including Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan and Adnan himself went to India to collaborate. "Now there's just silence," she said wistfully.

"There was a time in the 90s when poets from India would come and there would be mushairas. I've heard Jagjit sahab sing the 80s in Pakistan," shared Siddiqui.

"Then there was a time when Sushmita Sen and Saif Ali Khan came here," he added, going on to list other celebs from across the border who visited.

"The artists exchange programme was very good."

Sethi agreed, saying this cultural interaction humanises both sides.

"We watch their [Indian] movies," said the Uroosa star, cheekily adding "not their dramas". "They watch our dramas very enthusiastically. And it's still happening but under wraps.

"I would like to add that when it comes to tolerance, I feel we Pakistanis are more tolerant."

"You are saying this because the work stopped from their side," Sethi interjected.

"Yes, and then there was bound to be a reaction," added Siddiqui.

"I was saddened that even a personal video call between two celebs of Pakistan and India, who share a friendship and know each other, was forbidden," he continued. "What is this insecurity that even this is not allowed?"

The actor then turned to the camera and addressed Indians with a smile, saying "Bharat walon, thora sa tolerance level barhain [People of India, increase your tolerance level]".

In 2018, Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA) had refused to withdraw its ban on Pakistani artists working in India. The ban came in 2016, right before the release of Fawad Khan's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Mahira Khan's Raees alongside Shah Rukh Khan.

It didn't stop there.

Last year, when several Indian and Pakistani artists started collaborating online, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) issued "a total non-cooperation circular advising all members not to work in any manner whatsoever with all Pakistani artistes, singers and technicians".