Director Anubhav Sinha defends Pak slur in his upcoming release, Tum Bin 2
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; November 16, 2016)

In light of the September 18 Uri attacks, Bollywood has decided to do away with Pakistani talent following warnings and threats from right-wing activists. But, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has gone a step further by taking a dig at Pak men in his to-release film, Tum Bin 2. In a recently released promo, Aditya Seal and Meher Vij, who plays Neha Sharma’s sister, are seen debating on the phone over a Pakistani boy she intends to marry.

They mouth dialogues like, ‘Mahawl toh pata hai wahaan ka. Kabhi yaha bomb phat rahe hai kabhi waha’ and ‘Pakistan mein ladke hai hi kahan? Aadhe toh cricket khelte hai aur baaki ladkon ka kuch thik nahi hai.’ The promo has created quite a stir, and is among the current trending topics on social media.

Defending the anti-Pak dialogue, Anubhav says, “Whenever there is tension between India and Pakistan, every industry in our country responds to the situation differently, and Bollywood has always taken a rather rational approach. But, I had written the dialogues, which are humorous with an underlying message, much before the tension tension escalated.”

The filmmaker has been advised to remove the dialogues, but he has put his foot down. “I have said what I wanted to very blatantly. I have not done anything to sensationalise and I don’t think I need to worry. Once people watch the film, they will understand the context of those lines.”