In the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019 that claimed the lives of 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the All Indian Cine Workers Association announced a total ban on Pakistani artists and actors from working in India. For the last two years, the film fraternity has also shown solidarity by not working with Pakistani actors and singers in Indian films.
But now, a Punjabi film Chal Mera Putt 2, which is scheduled to release this week, will see five Pakistani actors (Zafri Khan, Iftikhar Thakur, Nasir Chinyoti, Rubi Anam, and Akram Udas) as part of the cast. Since Pakistani actors are not allowed in India for shooting, the makers of the film have gone to the UK and shot the film.
Justifying the casting, producer Munish Sahani said, “There is no particular reason to cast Pakistani actors. We have shot the film in the United Kingdom and the project required them. If I want to give international exposure to the film, I have to consider territories where the reach of Indian actors is limited.”
When questioned whether Pakistani actors had better reach than Indian actors, he said, “I am not just talking about Indian actors. I am specifically talking about Punjabi actors.”
However, when pointed out that in the past many Indian actors have played Pakistani characters, Sahani said, “It was not necessary to cast Pakistani actors. The film had certain characters that needed to be justified. When you watch the film, you will come to know about the casting.”
He further stated, “Punjabi films don’t have the reach which Hindi films have. All Punjabi films don’t work when they are released abroad. We just wanted to creatively justify the film and that’s the reason we took Pakistani actors.”
Despite having Pakistani actors in the cast, the film won’t be releasing in Pakistan.
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