Indian producers association bans Pak actors

on Sep 30, 2016

The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association has announced a ban on Pakistan actors and technicians from working in India. “(The) IMPPA in their 87th annual general meeting passed (a resolution that) no Pakistani will be hired by their producer members forever,” producer TP Aggarwal, the president of IMPPA said. The ban is expected to stay "until normalcy returns," according to reports. The move follows Indian Army's 'surgical strikes' on militant targets in Pakistan. Pakistani government had partially lifted ban on exhibition of Indian films in 2008.

Earlier, Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had asked all Pakistani artists to leave the country including Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar among others. Ashoke Pandit, Vice President of the IMPPA said that the decision is only applicable for new projects and that the IMPPA will not stall the release of films with Pakistani actors that are already slated to hit the screens such as Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil featuring Pak actor Fawad Khan and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees which has Pak actor Mahira Khan. Pandit also maintained that the decision had nothing to do with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) threat.