Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 20, 2017)

Team India's defeat at Pakistan's behest at the ICC Champions Trophy finale on Sunday triggered an outpour of hate comments on social media. Indians too didn't shy away from spewing venom against the cricketers on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.

Filmmaker Kabir Khan, who has vociferously spoken about India and Pakistan's "schizophrenic love-hate relationship", makes an interesting observation. "Those who pass these hateful comments on social media are the same people who clapped at Bajrangi Bhaijaan's [peaceful] climax. A Bajrangi from the streets of Chandni Chowk meeting Chand Nawab on streets of Pakistan forged a relation for life. There's a certain euphoria when a team wins, and sometimes, there's way too much negativity for the same reasons. Youngsters get carried away and indulge in this slang match," he tells mid-day, adding that citizens of the countries are either compassionate towards one another, or spewing hatred.

"If we are able to get people of the two countries closer, by art and music, or any other manner, relations will improve. Eventually, everyone will realise that people are not responsible [for wrongdoings], only certain sections are."

Right after the release of his 2015 action-thriller, 'Phantom', which was banned in Pakistan, Kabir found himself at the receiving end of the wrath of a few people at the Karachi airport. But the unwarranted abuse didn't turn him against Pakistan. "We tend to identify the actions of a few with that of the whole country. The 12 lunatics who harrowed me are a fringe minority in Pakistan. It is lamentable that news channels in our country don't help in peacemaking efforts."