New Delhi: Outright condemnation or tight-lipped silence. India's film fraternity on Monday united behind its Muslim actors – including the four Khans Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman and Saif – who have been threatened by the little known Indian Mujahideen outfit that claimed responsibility for the Ahmedabad blasts.
The group has purportedly written an email stating that Muslim actors must stop working in films immediately or face death. The email was received on Sunday, a day after serial blasts killed 45 people and injured many in Ahmedabad.
Prashant Pandey, writer of Ram Gopal Varma's Contract, an action thriller that was released last week and is said to be uncannily similar to how the Ahmedabad blasts played out, said it was unfortunate if actors were being targeted in the name of religion.
"An actor has no religion. One cannot categorise an actor on that basis. His persona is different as an individual both on and off-screen," Pandey said.
Renowned director Aziz Mirza, whose Kismat Konnection has just been released, said terrorists must be cold shouldered.
"One should not react to terrorists. You just negate them. They can do whatever they want. Nobody listens to mad dogs. Nobody in the industry will give a reaction,” Mirza said.
According to Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh, people were "shocked but the producers, writers, directors or even the actors have not issued any statement on this yet".
Describing the threats as "very sad and unfortunate", Adarsh said, "At the moment, there have been no official reports in the industry. What do actors have to do with the attacks? It is a free country and one has the right to do whatever she or he wants to."
Actor-turned-filmmaker Sanjay Khan, a Muslim by religion, refused to comment on the threats and said, "I think this is a media created hype and it is completely blowing matters out of proportion. I don't want to contribute and give more air to this (issue). There is no threat to Bollywood so far."
Filmmaker Jagmohan Mundra, whose next release Shoot on Sight is a film on international terrorism, said, "Indian Muslims have not been associated with terrorist activities till date and if some of them have started taking part in such activities, then it is really sad for our country.”
"India has always been a secular country and Bollywood has always advocated its secular character. A warning by a handful of people will definitely not matter to the industry,” he added.
Actress Juhi Chawla and choreographer-director Farah Khan, both close associates of Shah Rukh Khan, declined to comment on the threat. Shah Rukh too did not react to any calls or messages on the issue.
Veteran actress and Saif Ali Khan's mother Sharmila Tagore also did not respond on being contacted.
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