Ban on Pakistani actors in India: More opinions

Actors like Om Puri, Nagesh Kukunoor, Nana Patekar, Kangana Ranaut, John Abraham, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and a few others have spoken about the ban on Pakistani actors in India.

Here’s what they had to say:

Om Puri: When the government is taking an action, we all should stay quiet. It hardly matters if we send back the artists from Pakistan, who are working here, or let them stay. I have been to Pakistan six times and have met people from all strata.. I have always received love and warmth. If the Pakistani actors leave the projects they are doing here in middle, then people in India (filmmakers) will also face financial loss. Hence, this is insignificant. The actors have not come here through any illegal way. They have valid visa. But, if the government will ask them to leave, then it is different

Nan Patekar: Pakistani artists are secondary. What comes first for me is my nation. I neither know nor would I want to know anyone else other than my nation. Hum kalaakar desh ke saamne khatmal ki tarah hai. Hamari keemat kuch nahi hai. (We artistes are like mere termites when compared to our nation as a whole. We are least important people). Nation comes first and that’s how it should be for one and all. I have been a part of Indian army for two-and-a-half years and I know that our Jawans fighting at the border are the real heroes. Our soldiers are the biggest heroes in the world. We actors aren’t the real heroes and people shouldn’t pay heed to what we actors say. We shouldn’t be taken seriously. People should stop paying heed to actors who keep blabbering about Pakistani artists. Don’t give too much importance to those actors as they aren’t deserving of that importance.

Nagesh Kukunoor: I have always believed that art should stand alone. Even if you take the worst periods in a nation’s history, World War II, art still had its voice. I don’t think the two should be mixed. Having said that, the India-Pakistan situation is an extremely complex one. We are all part of the same country. 60-70 years is a very short period to actually find some kind of peaceful common ground.

Madhur Bhandarkar: Definitely the artists are not terrorists, and I believe that art has no boundary but the situation today is very different. When you see our 19 soldiers have been killed, and when we see the whole scenario… I feel a lot of Pakistani artists who work here they should have condemned the attacks on India over the years. When they can condemn US attack, when they can condemn Istanbul, Paris (attacks), all those attacks then why not India? My problem is that. When Peshawar attack happened, everybody in India condemned. So, if the Pakistani actors feel it (the attack) is happening over here, they should at least tweet about it. Right now I think nothing is bigger than the country.

Kangana Ranaut: Right now we are very overwhelmed with the loss of our soldiers, our jawans and our sons. So the country is not in that (frame of mind). It’s very hard to be objective right now. But we hope that the love and art prevail. Right now we can’t expect people to be objective. It’s such a big loss.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: This is our government’s job. Our government has a lot of expertise who look after these matters and policies. Being an artist I have no opinion on this controversy. This is not my job. Government decides it and it is their duty.

John Abraham: I feel fortunate to be part of the industry to promote and express our solidarity with our country and for the soldiers who are true heroes of this country.