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Indian film association member resigns after ban on Pakistani artistes

Indian film association member resigns after ban on Pakistani artistes

Aggarwal feels that the two nations are "one and alike" and should promote peace
Updated 03 Oct, 2016

Rising tensions between India and Pakistan and a subsequent ban on Pakistani talent working in India has led a member of an Indian film association to resign.

On Thursday, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) passed a resolution during the annual general meeting of the association that "till the situation is OK between the Pakistani and Indian governments, we will not hire any Pakistani artist, technician or singer."

In light of this, Rahul Aggarwal, a member of the Indian film association, posted a letter of resignation on Facebook stating "fundamental terrorism" between the two countries as the root cause. He cited that "art is above politics and as the custodians of this art; it is our responsibility to bring people together rather than divide them."

Furthermore, he added that the two countries need to come together to promote peace and not war as we are "one and alike".

He wrote, "Banning one another is not the solution, rather bringing everyone together and showing the world that terrorism cannot divide these two great nations can become a beacon for acceptance and hope, two characteristics that are the complete opposites of the fundamentalists that want us to go to war with one another."

In the end he noted that since the governing body did not recognise his voice he felt it as a "personal failure" and thus "useless" to the association.

Read the full letter here:

Of late, India and Pakistan have been on a banning spree. As India boycotts Pakistani talent across the border, Pakistani, too, has returned the favour by banning all Indian films in local cinemas. Celebrities on both sides of the border, however, are divided over the issue.

Comments

Baba Sep 30, 2016 07:12pm
A brave one !
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rehmanshawon Sep 30, 2016 07:15pm
One brave man out of one billion. Kudos to you!
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Proud Pakistani Sep 30, 2016 07:21pm
Respect from Pakistan. You have done something out of the way...hopefully people like you can be heard and sanity will prevail
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AXH Sep 30, 2016 07:25pm
Mr. Rahul Aggarwal, we need more people like you on both sides who think rationally.
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Changez_Khan Sep 30, 2016 07:25pm
Peace! Peace! Peace! NO WAR.
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Khalid Toronto Sep 30, 2016 07:32pm
Finally, a sane voice from India. Sir, you did a brave thing.
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Asif A. Shah Sep 30, 2016 08:01pm
Courageous man. I salute him.
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raza Sep 30, 2016 08:18pm
good thoughts and right decision
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Irfan Akram Sep 30, 2016 08:47pm
Thank you! Bravo
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ghafoor Sep 30, 2016 09:41pm
salute to this brave man.. standing for peace when everyone is yearning for war...
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Touseef Sep 30, 2016 11:05pm
Thankyou sir for displaying leadership and courage in these dire times.
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Lakhkar Khan Sep 30, 2016 11:53pm
Lots of respect for Mr. Aggarwal standing up on principle.
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Taiful Sep 30, 2016 11:53pm
Make sense
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Jay Sep 30, 2016 11:55pm
Great job. I think others need to take lesson from this.
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Tusmus Oct 01, 2016 01:46am
A man among men, if we had a leader like him in the region we would not have any issues..respect to you Sir..I bow down to you Namaste....
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Suhail Oct 01, 2016 02:00am
Salute to sane people on both sides of the border. We need more such voices from both the countries at this time.
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Mohd Akeel Oct 01, 2016 02:26am
good riddance.
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Mani Oct 01, 2016 02:58am
A good man speaks sense, but is anyone listening?
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Javed Arshad Oct 01, 2016 03:29am
A forward looking visionary. In time hopefully more will understand, I hope there is no adventurism in the meantime.
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waseem Oct 01, 2016 04:49am
I salute you. you are real time hero......
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Aftab Ahmad Oct 01, 2016 05:32am
At last one sane voice !!!
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Khan USA Oct 01, 2016 05:54am
Welcome Sir !
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Sanjoy Sankar Guha Oct 01, 2016 08:52am
I agree fully with his point of view. But now it's Season Jingoism in India.
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Darshan Oct 01, 2016 09:08am
Good, offer him Pakistani Citizenship
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athar Oct 01, 2016 09:08am
sanity is prevailing.
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abc Oct 01, 2016 09:10am
Who is this Rahul Aggarwal? What kind of producer is he? Has he made any film?
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Indian Oct 01, 2016 09:15am
his point of view
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sharath chandra Oct 01, 2016 09:18am
Comments from Pakistan here shows how dependent the Pakistani artists are on India for their livelihood.
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adeeb Oct 01, 2016 09:25am
Only one in billion
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Salman Oct 01, 2016 09:37am
He is Great man , salutes to you for not falling prey to hate .
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SAK Oct 01, 2016 09:52am
Hats off! What courage, what conviction! I wish the world has more people like Aggarwal over both sides of the border.
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GOURAB SEAL Oct 01, 2016 10:46am
Truly said sir, common a men of both countries want peace. Thank you for expressing common voice of indians aptly.
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Akhtar Saeed Khan Oct 01, 2016 11:02am
I 100% agree with Mr. Rahul. We need to have such more sane people like him.
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ak Oct 01, 2016 11:28am
What a man. Kudos.
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amir rafiq Oct 01, 2016 03:42pm
WHAT A MAN AND WHAT A STATEMENT SALUTE TO YOU RAHUL SIR
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Huma Oct 01, 2016 04:56pm
Such a brave stance in such an intense time. I agree we need more people like you,enough of hate. War is no answer, this world is already a difficult place to live and please don't make it even more difficult by hate, aggression and intolerance. Why can't we all live in peace.
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NowNow Oct 01, 2016 05:26pm
Hats off to Mr. Agarwall. Very courageous decision in this difficult situation.
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ozzy Oct 01, 2016 08:13pm
@sharath chandra he said the right thing, whats that got to do with liveluhood. Its indian producers who are inviting pakistanis. Same for music, storylines etc. It makes mor sense to say india gets its cripts, music etc from pak
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Irfan UK Oct 01, 2016 09:04pm
Wow that is amazing to see that there are still real humans out there who can see through the fundamentalists well done and please stay safe we need more people like you on both sides.
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Irfan UK Oct 01, 2016 09:08pm
@abc It does not matter if he has produced any film or not he has turned up as a hero and I wish him Love, Respect and Happiness in his life from Pakistan. Well done Sir.
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Woodworth Oct 02, 2016 03:00am
Rahul Agarwal you are right,decent,and brave person.Keep it up . You are cordially invited to Pakistan,come with Mahesh Bhatt or Om Puri.
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V. Bhatia Oct 02, 2016 05:52am
Mr. Rahul Aggarwal has merely taken a stand against what has been perpetrated at Uri and Pakistani artists being banned even temporarily from working in the Indian movie industry. He has a right to his opinion, stated it publicly, put his money where his mouth is, and right or wrong, CHOSE to pay the price. Mr Rahul Aggarwal has not done anything unpatriotic or favored Pakistan over India, and I am sure like any other patriotic Indian he abhors the terrorists who were instrumental in the murder and mayhem at Uri, Pathankot and Mumbai. He just does not subscribe to any correlation between these acts of terrorism and Pakistani artists being banned from working in India. No more, no less
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VKP Oct 02, 2016 09:38am
LOL.....What a publicity stunt from this guy..... First, he resigns then post his resignation on twitter to get publicity.
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Niaz H. Jafri Oct 04, 2016 11:12am
Salute to you Mr. Rahul Aggarwal !
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Adnan Izhar Oct 04, 2016 06:45pm
Well someone had the guts to challenge the Indian Hypocricy. Respect.
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TM Oct 04, 2016 08:12pm
While there should be peace, trade, sports and all other sorts of cooperation between the two countries, but we are not one people. We are two very distinct countries and nations. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a bit confused about this distinction. Extreme case: I am a Pakistani and will die for my country. I may work in bollywood movies, but would certainly not consider dying for India. Trivial case: Anti Pakistan dialogs in an Indisn movie... I fast forward through it even though I have heard its one of the best dialogs of the movie. All my love and respect for the actors involved in that scene aside, I just cannot take it. I am sure, rather certain that Indians think the same way. Lets respect each other's identity and strive to live in peace and harmony.
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TM Oct 04, 2016 08:18pm
@sharath chandra Indian population is 10 times (give or take) that of Pakistan. How come Pakistani artists are hired by Bollywood? Maybe they have some skills? Charm? Surely they are sought out. Nobody can force themselves on Bollywood, can they?
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