They had threatened to stall the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, if he didn’t delete all scenes of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan from the film. With no assurances on that front coming from Johar, members of the Maharasthra Navnirman affiliated Chitrapath Karmachari Sena gathered outside Johar’s Dharma Productions office in Mumbai on 27 September, chanting slogans against the fillmmaker.
A radio journalist posted via periscope visual of MNS members protesting outside Johar’s office. As seen from here, the usual ‘Pakistan murdabad’ slogans are accompanied by the members slamming Johar and declaring that they will not allow Pakistani artistes to work in India.
Johar was provided with police protection.
Johar had recently told NDTV in an interview that banning Pakistani artistes in Indian films is not the solution to the political issues between the two nations. "Telling Fawad to pack up and leave isn’t a solution. Today if my film is being targeted because of this it will make me exceptionally sad. Banning art or artistes isn’t a solution. I understand the anger and the anguish that surrounds us. I feel my heart bleeds for those who lost their lives. However, banning artists from the country was not a solution," he said in the interview, adding how the film industry is always made into a soft target.
"We are just soft targets. Anything happens in the world, and you attack good old Indian cinema. I am a vulnerable soft target.We are just soft targets. Anything happens in the world, and you attack good old Indian cinema. I am a vulnerable soft target," said Johar.
Ranbir Kapoor, too, was quoted as saying that it was unfair to pin the blame on the fillmmaker for casting Fawad Khan in the film.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is slated to release on Diwali, 28 October, 2016.