Bollywood director won't cast Mawra Hocane in upcoming film

MUMBAI: Bollywood director Abhishek Jawkar claimed that he had dropped the idea of casting Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane, owing to rising tensions between India and Pakistan. 

Mawra Hocane made her Bollywood debut last year with Sanam Teri Kasam, which failed to impress at the box office but gained favourable reviews for the Pakistani actress. An Abhishek Jawkar, a Bollywood director, claimed that he would not go ahead with the plan to cast Hocane in his upcoming movie due to the rising India-Pakistan tensions.

"I will not work with any Pakistani actors in my upcoming film or in my future projects also. I was planning to cast Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane as the leading lady of my film. But now after the Uri attack and India’s surgical attack reply, I strongly feel I should support my country and the soldiers fighting for our nation," he said. 

Ever since relations recently deteriorated between India and Pakistan, extremist groups have started threatening Pakistani artists in India. Some Bollywood personalities such as Salman Khan, Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt have supported Pakistani artists while the Indian media has largely been hostile to them.