Dia Mirza celebrates Fawad Khan's return to Bollywood with Abir Gulaal, anticipates more Indo-Pak collabs: 'Art should not be tangled with hate'

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan is all set to make his comeback in Bollywood with Abir Gulaal, and actress Dia Mirza is quite excited about his return. In an interview with News18, Dia shared his take on Fawad marking his second stint in Hindi and asserted that art should never be mixed with hate and politics. The Kaafir actress said, "It is a political question. If the circumstances to seek a ban on artists were completely…I’ve always believed that art is and should always be the medium of peace and harmony." 

Dia further stated that she wishes to see more such collaborations between India and Pakistan. "We should never, ever allow art and sport to be tangled or mixed with hate. It’s just good that Fawad is back in the film, you know that we will be watching it soon. I hope this leads to many more such opportunities for other collaborations," Dia added.  

This has to be considered that Dia's statement is from an interview which was conducted in early April, before the Pahalgam terror attack. With Abir Gulaal, Fawad will enter Bollywood after eight years. His last release was 2016's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Aishwarya Rai. Abir Gulaal was anticipated by Fawad fans in India. But after the terror attack, many are saying that the film shouldn't be allowed to be released, and neither should the actors from the neighbouring country be allowed to work here. 

Abir Gulaal will not be releasing in India? 

Sources from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India on Thursday said that Abir Gulaal, which also stars Vaani Kapoor, will not be allowed to release in India. This came after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) urged for complete non-cooperation with all Pakistani artists, singers, and technicians within the Indian film and entertainment industry. 

(With inputs from ANI)