Karan Johar happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His film ‘Ae dil Hai Mushkil’ is set for release but the Uri terrorist attacks, surgical strikes by the Indian army and a general feeling against anything Pakistani has vitiated the atmosphere. Johar’s problem is that his film features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and the MNS has issued an oblique threat to multiplexes if they went ahead with the release. Desperate to get his film released, Johar has promised not to hire any Pakistani actor in the future. It seems unfair to target Johar’s film since it was made entirely before the Uri attacks and there is nothing he can do to change it. While we all agree that the country comes first and art and culture second, there was no blockade in place when Johar was making the film, so to hold him hostage now does not seem like the right thing to do. In any case, the MNS is the least trusted barometer of patriotism.
