THE TIMES OF INDIA (August 15, 2019)

Mumbai: Film trade unions based in Mumbai have announced a boycott of pop singer Mika after reports emerged of his performance last week at the wedding of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s cousin’s daughter in Karachi.

Mika, whose real name is Amrik Singh, sang at the wedding venue on August 8. Soon after, on August 11, an article published in the Pakistani newspaper ‘The News,’ referring to an unnamed source, said the groom was keen on having Mika perform on the occasion.

It wasn’t an easy wish to fulfill given the current tensions over Jammu & Kashmir, the Pulwama-Balakot backdrop and considering that Indian films, dramas and songs are currently banned in Pakistan. Yet Singh and his 14-member team got a visa “within 24 hours, courtesy Musharraf’s cousin’s links in the right quarters.” The pop singer was paid 1,50,000 US dollars and provided first-class tickets, the report added. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), a leading union, on Wednesday called the singer “anti-national” and blamed him for his “unbridled greed for money over nation.” It appealed to production houses, recording companies, music directors, event managers, and All India Radio and FM stations to tune him out of their repertoire. It stated that anyone who dealt with Mika would also be boycotted.

The All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA), a small-time association based in Powai, also announced a “ban” on the singer, though it does not have a known following among actors, film-makers or technicians and thus its scope is limited. Its founder Suresh Gupta, who himself does not belong to the film industry, said, “I have neither spoken to Mika nor issued a show-cause notice. By banning Mika, whom we consider anti-national, we want to send a message to the likes of Karan Johar, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to desist from using Pakistani artistes.”

The Pakistani daily ‘The News’ too was unhappy. “People are raising questions on social media whether the (Pakistani) government is befooling them as it, on one hand, has announced halting trade and downgrading relations with India but on the other it is giving special protocol to the Indian singers,” its report said.

Mika’s business manager Kanwaljeet Singh declined comment.
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MUMBAI MIRROR (August 15, 2019)

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), the mother body of all the 24 crafts of filmmaking, has banned singer Mika Singh from performing, recording, playback singing and acting in India “irrevocably forever”.

The step was taken after Mika performed at an event in Pakistan amid spiralling diplomatic uncertainty between the neighbours since New Delhi abrogated Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. A 30-second video clip tweeted by a Pakistani journalist showed Mika performing at an event after India’s August 5 decision and New Delhi severing all artistic and social ties with Islamabad.

FWICE issued a statement on Wednesday, saying they are “deeply pained and anguished by the performance of singer, Mika Singh alias Amrik Singh at the wedding of former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf’s cousin’s daughter in Karachi…“Since the cultural bridge between India and Pakistan is under siege, his performance sent shivers down the spine of every Indian. Mika Singh’s unbridled greed for money over the nation indicates a total non-application of mind and smacks of roguish, mala fide and traumatic intentions,” the statement added.

The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) also banned the singer from the Indian film industry.