Karan Johar is connected strongly to controversies. Whether be it controversies surrounding his TV show – Koffee With Karan or some uproar with his movies, he is always in the limelight. Following the Uri attacks recently, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) headed by Raj Thackeray, threatened the Pakistani actor Fawad Khan to leave India within 48 hours, which meant that the shooting of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ would have to be stalled, as the Pakistani hunk plays a cameo. There was quite an uproar from the B-town biggies – some in support of MNS and some not.
KJo finally broke the silence regarding the controversy, sounding all upset.
“I understand the anger and the anguish that surround us and I empathize, my heart bleeds for the lost lives. There is nothing that can justify this terrible feeling of terror. Then you are faced in a situation such as this. If this was truly a solution, one would take it,” the director told a news channel.”
KJo also added that he feels banning Pakistani artists isn’t the solution. “But this is not a solution. I don’t believe it is. The larger forces have to come together and sort the situation and this cannot be banning talent or art.” The 44-year-old filmmaker said he feels “vulnerable” while speaking about it publicly. “I feel vulnerable and scared while even saying this. I completely feel the pain and anger. If my film is targeted because of this, it will make me exceptionally sad because my intent was to put out a product out of love and nothing else.” said Johar.
The 44-year-old filmmaker also revealed how he reacts to such threats.
“I don’t know… I beseech everyone to look at it holistically and understand the situation, that there is a larger situation here and it has nothing to do with banning talent. Let’s look at it from a larger perspective and find the answer.”
Kjo further continued by adding he is made the target unnecessarily. “I am not somebody who can find the answer. I am nobody in that scheme of things. I am just a filmmaker, telling a love story. Today I feel, I am a vulnerable soft target. I have faced it, felt the repercussions of it in the past and I have constantly combated that.”
He also feels, Pakistani artists aren’t of any harm to our country and that they are just artists who want to work in India. “Sometimes, you just want to fold your hands and say, ‘We are a creative industry. Please leave us alone. We make movies, we spread love. There are millions in the world, in our country who are happy with the work we do, allow us that…’ I think we should not be those soft targets anymore. We don’t matter in the scheme of things but we can make things happier and better,” he said.
Directed by Kjo, ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ is slated to be Diwali release this year. The cast includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma while SRK and Fawad Khan appear in a cameo.
