KARACHI: The member of an Indian film association has resigned after a ban was slapped on Pakistani artists working in India because of tensions between Pakistan and India.

On Thursday, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) passed a resolution during its annual general meeting, saying, “Till the situation is OK between the Pakistani and Indian governments, we will not hire any Pakistani artist, technician or singer”, according to a Dawn.com report.

In response to the development, Rahul Aggarwal, a member of the association, posted a letter of resignation on Facebook citing “fundamental terrorism” between the two countries as the root cause. He said, “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 needed 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.”

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.

‘Artists not terrorists’

In a recently held press conference, Indian superstar Salman Khan spoke about maintaining peaceful relations between India and Pakistan. He said that the action taken towards terrorists was justified but Pakistani artists were not terrorists. “They (Pakistani actors) are artists, not terrorists. It’s the government who gives them permits and visas,” said Salman Khan, according to a Times of India report.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, the film wing of the Raj Thackeray-led hardline regional party, announced that they would stall the release of every film that had Pakistani actors in it.

Peerzada Salman adds: Pakistani cinema owners have stopped screening Indian films in their multiplexes and singles screen cinemas to show that, like the rest of the nation, people associated with the film industry too stand shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces.

The cinema owners have done so on their own as no government notification to that effect has been issued. It is also a reaction to the Indian film producers association’s decision to impose a ban on their members from hiring Pakistani performers.

Talking to Dawn, Nadeem Mandviwalla of the Mandviwala Entertainment expressed his displeasure at the IMPPA move and said, “Basically we haven’t taken any decision. The decision has been taken by an Indian trade body. There are factions in India which are doing this, and they are very vocal. When an Indian trade body passed a resolution and endorsed that Pakistani stars wouldn’t be working in their country, they left us with no choice. They are our counterparts. If you endorse such things there, then we will also come up with our response. Sentiments are on both sides.”

Mr Mandviwalla said that while the governments on both sides were working on the issue, there was no reason for trade bodies to come in between.

Mohsin Yaseen, General Manager Marketing of Cinepax Cinemas, said that no Indian film would be screened in multiplexes until the situation calmed down. He said that they wanted to express solidarity with the armed forces.

Besides, he added, no Indian film had been screened at Cinepax since Eidul Azha.

Similarly, Nueplex Cinemas have said in a post on their website, “To express solidarity with the Armed Forces of Pakistan, the management of Nueplex Cinemas has decided to stop the screening of Indian films with immediate effect.”

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016