The Shiv Sena has warned the Indian film industry against hiring Pakistani artists, saying it will teach a lesson to those who do so, leading filmamker Mahesh Bhatt said Sunday.
Maharashtra Cinema Television Sena (MCTS), a frontal organisation of sthe Shiv Sena, has threatened those using the services of Pakistani artists, he said, adding he received the letter Saturday and it was addressed to all production houses, organisers, event managers and media houses.
Bhatt read out the letter while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here.
The warning by Sena comes in the wake of the detention of Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Delhi airport on Feb 13 for carrying undeclared foreign currency.
“We at MCTS would like to inform you that henceforth if any of the above mentioned fraternities indulge in such an act wherein the Indian soil is used for Pakistani performers we are determined to teach them a lesson in our Shiv Sena style,” said the letter.
“We also very strongly condemn the manner in which some of you are entertaining few Pakistani artists time and again by conducting events and television programmes, serials etc thus making our Indian artistes helpless, jobless causing grave injustice to their hard-earned talent,” it said.
Bhatt said the threat was a method to continue the war in the field of arts and culture. He said it was the responsibility of the governments at the centre and in Maharashtra to take action in this regard.
“They have to decide whether they allow trampling of individual liberty and can any political group dictate you to do this and not this,” said the filmmaker.
He said while Rahat should be punished and jailed if he had violated the law, the process of cultural exchanges should not be stopped in the larger interest of the people of the entire region.
Bhatt recalled that it was he who brought Rahat to the film industry and he sung for “Paap” and later for “Kalyug”. “We made many films since then and a Bangladeshi and a Nepalese singer also sung for us,” he said.
“A thousand songs are recorded in India and hardly 10 or 12 of them are sung by Pakistanis. It is wrong to say that others are not getting work because of this,” he added.
Bhatt feels threats like these could demolish the bridge he and some others built a few years ago for cultural exchange to remove the bitterness between the two countries.
“We achieved what others could not achieve for 60 years. Before 2006, no Indian films were screened in Pakistan. Today all Indian films are being screened in Pakistan and Indian cinema is making money from this. In return, only two or three of their singers come here,” he said.
The filmmaker emphasised that people of Pakistan are not the government of Pakistan.
“Our Pakistani brothers are also fighting against those people who are involved in bloodshed. They are also victims. It is not proper to put entire people of Pakistan in dock, stop the composite dialogue process and hope that the region will be fine,” he added.
- IANS
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once there is a virus in the community, the community should be avoided so as to save our community and let them when it is cleared. so do not encourage em. and don’t try to justify your mistakes. rahat was adopted and came to know is a fraud. so r u going to hold the punishment for hiring him? until we come to know he is a bawdy, the mistake would have been committed.. y do u put our lives under risk.. they have the ability and cooperation to stop this, they r not willing to.. so y do u … if u r so intended to work with them then go pakisthan n make films.. as a citizen,, i used my right to speak in national issues..
prathap, AP
Salute to Mr Bhatt & his family, they always come out to speak for the truth. Thank GOD some ppl still alive in this world, while Amir & Salman go and bow down in front of Shiv S, so, that their films should run smoothly.
What to say all I can say is that GOD is watching.So, please s s ……..
Govt. must take strong action against extremists live Shiv Sena party.
come on people indians are all over the world working, living socialising. we have been accepted all over the world . we should be open to the world too. dont let the minority of people stereotype the rest of the nation. it is racist and us indians are not racist. this is rgiht wing racism what there proposing. go bhats go.
I am Pakistani here in the UK and have many good Indian friends the shiv sena is nothing but a racist group which does nothing for the people of Indian there is so much poverty in India what are they doing? they it seems have only one point Pakistani artist I mean for god sake how many are there. Here in the UK we also had a racist group the BNP who hated very one who wasn’t white but we the British public got rid of them but that wont happen in Indian because bollywood is to scared India got its independence from the British Raj but not from shiv sena. Bhatt saab needs support but he wont get it, I just want to finish with this last point the BNP didn’t like Indians they felt they were getting all the good jobs and the white British were being left out then may be shiv senas policy that pak artists should not be allowed to work in India should apply to Indians in the UK?
I can’t believe there are still small minded people in India – the country has come forward in so many ways and yet the public still look backwards when the name Pakistan is mentioned. This Shiv Sinha seems extremist to me where as i do not condone any person breaking the law be it Pakistani or Indian this Shiv Sinha is openly hostile and promotes racial hatred and people cheer him! To me he seems no better than the BNP in England. Countries like Pakistan and India can never be friends when you have the likes of Shiv Sinha in power.