Showing posts with label Pervez Musharraf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pervez Musharraf. Show all posts
Playing Musharraf brought me hate and love-Manu Rishi Chadha
10:33 AM
Deep Saxena (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 17, 2026)
Actor Manu Rishi Chadha, who plays former Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf in Operation Safed Sagar, says the role has brought him both hate and appreciation.
“My social media DMs are flooded. Someone wrote that he wants to slap me for the act and hug me for my work. I was like… please don’t slap, as if others too feel the same, it will be too much (laughs). I feel the hate is also love which means the work was appreciated,” he tells us. Chadha says he expected strong reactions to his portrayal of Musharraf during the 1999 Kargil War. “There is one common message I am getting: Manu bhai jitni nafrat thi (Musharraf) woh double ho gaya par aapse pyar ho gaya! I want ki woh nafrat bani rahe.”
For the role, he deliberately stayed away from too many archival references: “I just saw 1-2 videos, but then I decided not to; otherwise it would become caricaturish. My first question was, ‘How do I look like him?’ Also, hero ki duniya mein villain banna, and that too a real person, was a challenge.”
A chat with Nawazuddin Siddiqui helped him find his approach. “I asked him how he played (Saadat Hasan) Manto in the film and he was like, there was no reference of him except his photo and work. So, he created and worked on his human side — right or wrong! So, I decided that I will just follow my director and creators’ vision.”
Chadha says the challenge was to inhabit the character without slipping into mimicry. “Kahin mimic na ho jaye — yeh darr bhi rakha aur jimmedari bhi rakhi! As an Indian, I can hate him but as an actor, I can’t!” he ends.
Mika Singh chants ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ at India-Pakistan border
7:33 AM
MUMBAI MIRROR (August 17, 2019)
After receiving backlash over his performance in Pakistan, singer Mika Singh uploaded a video on social media in which he is seen chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” at Attari-Wagah border, showcasing his love for the nation.
“Bharat Mata ki Jai! Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome. Happy Independence Day once again and salute to our jawans. They aren’t able to celebrate any festival, all to make our lives better. Jai hind,” Mika wrote in a social media post on Friday.
The “Dhinka Chika” hitmaker had kicked up a storm earlier this week when he recently performed with a 14-member troupe at the pre-wedding ceremony of Adnan Asad’s daughter. Asad is a relative of former Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf.
At a time when Indo-Pak tensions have escalated, Mika’s performance did not go down well in India. The Federation Of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) have banned the playback singer-musician, whose full name is Amrik Singh, from any performance, recording, playback singing and acting in India “irrevocably forever”.
Mika Singh banned for ‘anti-national’ act
8:23 AM
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.
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