Apology for casting Pakistani actors was made under pressure: Karan Johar

MUMBAI: Indian filmmaker and director Karan Johar recently spoke out against an apology video he had released in the wake of last year's Uri attack, in which he had promised not to work with Pakistani talent again, claiming that he had recorded the video under pressure.

Pressure mounted on Karan Johar after the Uri attacks sparked an outrage in India against Pakistani artists. Hindu extremist organisation Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) threatened to ban Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which featured Pakistani actor Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas. Following that, Karan had recorded a video message pledging support for India and said he would never work with Pakistani talent again.

 

However, he recently spilled the beans about the video and claimed that he had felt threatened, which is why he felt compelled to record that message.

"Even though I have my own belief and thoughts on the same, there was a studio and cast to whom I was accountable. That’s why I had to issue the (video) statement, about which I felt terrible about," he said.

"Everyone said it looked like you were going to cry. I wasn’t crying and pleading to profess my nationalism. I wanted to break into tears... the fact that I had to do this. It felt like there was an invisible gun on my head," he added.