The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Wednesday demanded the replacement of Pakistani actors Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan from their respective Bollywood projects "Raees" and "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".
At a press conference here, Amey Khopkar, President of the MNS film wing, said:
"The day Pakistan will stop attacking our country, we will extend the hand of friendship. We do not have anything against art but the artistes who are employed in India, but remained mum on the terror attack in Uri. We gave them an ultimatum of 48 hours to leave India. You can rest assured that they have left, but if we find any Pakistani artiste, we won't spare (them)."
On Tuesday, MNS workers protested outside filmmaker Karan Johar's Dharma Productions office for casting Fawad in ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.
Talking about Karan, Khopkar said: "Karan Johar isn't bigger than the government. If Karan Johar and 'Raees' makers don't replace the actors, we will not allow 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and 'Raees' to release."
"Raees" marks Mahira's entry into Bollywood and features Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, while "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" stars Fawad Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma.
The party's General Secretary Shalini Thackeray said: "Fawad Khan is not the only target. We are against every Pakistani actor. We will not allow any Pakistani actor to work in Mumbai."