"1-Way Traffic…": Javed Akhtar On Pak Artistes In India After J&K Attack

New Delhi:

After last week’s horrific terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, in which 25 tourists and a Kashmiri ponywallah were killed, a movie featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan will not be allowed to release in India, and there have been debates about whether this was the right move. Asked to weigh in on this, lyricist-scriptwriter Javed Akhtar has said there are two very important sides to the issue, but artistes from Pakistan should not be allowed to work in India at least for the time being. 

Answering a question on Tuesday, Mr Akhtar, who co-wrote cult movies like ‘Deewaar’ and ‘Sholay’, said there has been “one-way traffic” and legends from India have not been invited to perform in Pakistan. 

“There are two answers, and both of them are equally logical. You can toss a coin to find the right one. It has been one-way traffic – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali and Noor Jahan came to India, we gave them a great reception. Faiz Ahmad Faiz, who was a poet of subcontinent – he was living in Pakistan because he was born there, but I wouldn’t say he is a Pakistani poet, he was a poet of peace and love – when he came to India during the AB Vajpayee regime, he was treated like a state head,” Mr Akhtar said. 

The lyricist pointed out, however, that this has never been reciprocated by Pakistan.

VIDEO | When asked about whether Pakistani artists should be allowed in India, lyricist Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) says, “The first question should be whether we should allow the Pakistani artists here. There are two answers, both of them are equally logical. It has been a… pic.twitter.com/ox9b3CfbLy

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 29, 2025

“I have no complaint against the people of Pakistan. Big poets of Pakistan have written poems on Lata Mangeshkar. She was, hands down, the most popular Indian artiste in Pakistan in the 60s and 70s, but why was there not a single performance by Lata Mangeshkar in the country? There was some blockage, which was the system, the Pakistani establishment, which I don’t understand. This is one-way traffic, which is not right,” he asserted. 

Mr Akhtar also pointed out, however, that blocking Pakistani artistes from working in India is giving the neighbouring country’s army and fundamentalists what they want.

“The second, equally valid, point of view is that if we block Pakistani artistes in India, who are we pleasing in Pakistan? The army and the fundamentalists. This is what they want – a tall wall between India and Pakistan so Pakistanis cannot see the kind of freedom and privileges every citizen of India enjoys. They want distance, it suits them. Bonhomie doesn’t,” he said. 

“Both these questions are equally valid. But, at this moment, I would say no (to Pakistanis working in India),” he added. 

Movie Release

Sources in the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry had said last week that the Bollywood film ‘Abir Gulaal’ featuring Pakistani Actor Fawad Khan, will not be allowed to release in India. Several people and groups, including Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, had opposed the movie’s release – scheduled for May 9 – and many cinema halls had also said they would not screen it. 

Two songs from the film, which had been released earlier, have also been taken down from YouTube.