Ashoke Pandit, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Gajendra Chauhan, Isha Koppikar, Virender Sehwag (below) at the protest in Film City

FWICE and 24 industry bodies, along with cricketers, join protests against Pulwama attacks
MUMBAI MIRROR (February 18, 2019)

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has called for a complete ban on all Pakistan artistes, said its chief advisor Ashoke Pandit in the wake of the terror attack in Pulwama. “We’re officially announcing the inviolable diktat.”

On Sunday, FWICE and its 24 crafts of the film and television industry, held a solidarity march at the Film City gate from 2 pm to 4 pm to pay its respects to the martyrs and their families. The protest saw participation from major film bodies and the association of cinematographers, make-up men, costumes, junior artists, editors, fighters, dancers.

The shooting of Amitabh Bachchan’s next, Brahmastra, and a commercial featuring cricketers Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina, was voluntarily stopped for two hours and Sehwag, Singh, Raina and VVS Laxman, among others, joined the protest in solidarity. “Whatever we say or do will perhaps be less for the soldiers. We can only thank them and should do whatever we can to help them,” Sehwag said. Big B could not come outside as he was in his get-up.

Meanwhile, Paresh Rawal appealed to Indian news channels to not invite any Pakistani guests or Indian terrorist sympathisers on their shows.

T-Series has pulled down videos and stopped promotions of two songs by Pakistani artistes after a demand from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to music labels to stop collaborations with them, in retaliation for the February 14 attack which left at least 49 CRPF troopers dead. The music company removed its recently released songs—Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s single and Atif Aslam’s “Baarishein” from YouTube. Two songs from the film Notebook, for which Atif had given playback, will be recorded again with an Indian singer.

Vicky Kaushal, who fronted Uri: The Surgical Strike, has condemned the attack, describing it as “sad”. “It is a great loss of human lives. If in any possible way, we can support the family of martyrs, it would be a great contribution from our end, as a society. The whole incident should not be forgiven and forgotten,” he was quoted as saying on the sidelines of an event organised by CINTAA over the weekend.

The Arts Council of Pakistan has criticised veteran Indian actress Shabana Azmi and her lyricist-writer husband Javed Akhtar for axing their visit to Karachi. The couple was set to take part in centenary celebrations of Shabana’s poetfather Kaifi Azmi on February 24-24. The Dawn newspaper on Sunday quoted Council President Ahmed Shah as saying that Shabana had “crossed the line” the way she attacked Pakistan in a manner not appropriate for a literary person.