News Desk |
Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) on Thursday, refused to lift the ban anytime soon that was imposed two years ago on Pakistani artists working in the Bollywood industry citing the strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.
T.P. Aggarwal, President of IMPPA, said that the organization was against Fawad Khan being paid INR 5 Crore for his work in Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. He added that they are “against the view of allowing Pakistani artists in Bollywood”.
Recently, the members of the association raised objections on hiring services of Pakistani singers like Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ and ‘Welcome To New York’, respectively.
Read more: PEMRA and the fate of Indian shows
Singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo stormed Indian media with his statements in which he openly objected to the selection of Atif Aslam for ‘Dil Diyyan Gallan’ in Tiger Zinda Hai and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for ‘Istehar’ in Sonakshi Sinha’s ‘Welcome To New York’.
“Dil Diyan Gallan is a nice song. There is another nice song sung by Atif in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. My morals as an artist or sensibilities agree that artists have no boundary”.
He went on to add, “I definitely want to believe that but having said that our soldiers are being killed. At a time when we have cornered Pakistan, if we can stop Pakistani players playing in the IPL, maybe it would have been nice if Bollywood showed solidarity and took a stand”.
A music composer from ‘Welcome To New York’, Shamit Tandon expressed his disappointment on the organization’s decision to retain the ban on Pakistani artists.
Read more: Indian Minister demands ban on Atif and Rahat for being Pakistani
“Pakistani artists like Rahat Sahab, Ghulam Ali are gifted and all of us in India love their voice. It’s sad that we may have to stop working with artists across the border despite our respect for them as vocalists and knowing them individually as good human beings and friends”.
Tandon says, “For us, the nation comes first so we will stop working with Pakistani artists to respect sentiments in India. And I would also like to add that I have the greatest respect for Rahat Sahab. This is in no way to say we are against Pakistani artists at all”.