In another act of xenophobia, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Friday threatened all Pakistani artists and actors to “immediately leave India within 48 hours.” Amey Khopkar, chief of MNS’s cinema workers’ unit was quoted as saying, “We give a 48-hour deadline to Pakistani actors and artistes to leave India, or MNS will push them out.”
That was not all as he added that, “Pakistani artistes will get beaten up. Along with them, we will also beat up whichever producer or director is with them.”
These xenophobic and provocative comments from the party come at a time when the relations between India and Pakistan are in jeopardy over Islamabad’s habit of fostering terrorists on its home ground. Such incidents are not a first from the Khopkar camp as earlier too he had issued threats of physical violence to comedian Tanmay Bhat over the Sachin Tendulkar- Lata Mangeshkar controversy.
Reportedly, there have been incidents when party chief Raj Thackeray has distanced himself from his remarks. Shiv Sena had also targeted the promotions of Fawad Khan’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ and Mahira Khan’s ‘Raees’. It had even said filmmakers and producers ‘should not cast Pakistanis in their films’.
