Vaani Kapoor and Fawad Khan of Pakistan's pending film Abir Gulaal has become a controversy in the aftermath of the terrorist attack at Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.
The attack left the country grieving and generated a lot of anger on social networking sites. In response, the film has been demanded to be boycotted on social media sites.
In the wake of the increasing backlash, marketing material for Abir Gulaal appears to be quietly disappearing. Two songs that were previously released, Khudaya Ishq and Angrezi Rangrasiya, no longer exist on YouTube India. Both these songs were originally uploaded to the production house's official channel and Saregama's channel on YouTube, which has the music rights. Both videos have been taken down from YouTube India, though.
Also, the release of another track, Tain Tain, scheduled for Wednesday, has not taken place as anticipated. The directors have not yet made an official statement or explanation regarding the delay.
In the midst of growing controversy, sources from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry have confirmed that Abir Gulaal will not be released in India. The movie has been withheld from release because of the growing controversy around it.
The film was previously opposed by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, who claimed that, in light of the strained relationship between India and Pakistan, it was not proper that a film starring a Pakistani actor was being released in India. There were demands for boycott immediately after the teaser of the film was released on April 1, and further stronger demands were made after the horrific Pahalgam attack.
Abir Gulaal, directed by Aarti S Bagdi, was originally released on May 9. Riddhi Dogra, Lisa Haydon, Farida Jalal, Soni Razdan, Parmeet Sethi, and Rahul Vohra feature in major roles in the film.
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