We Need to Talk About the ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ Bullying

What’s with the selective, hypocritical targeting of ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’?

Karan Johar’s film is being attacked by a hypocritical and hyper-national mob.

A couple of days ago a vicious video went viral on social media - it had a couple of schoolboys brutally assaulting a classmate till he was begging to be left alone. This clip of the beastly bullies created a huge uproar online, everyone was outraged.

In a parallel universe we had Karan Johar sending out a video pleading for the ‘safe’ release of his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. First of course, he had to clearly state that he was a patriotic Indian, for whom his country came first. Then he had to state another obvious fact - he had shot his film from September to December 2015, when the circumstances between India and Pakistan were completely different. Johar then went on to add that he will not engage with talent from the neighbouring country given the circumstance. 300 Indians had put their blood, sweat and tears into his film, the director pleaded, before pledging his support for and respect to the Indian army.

Here was a filmmaker bullied into submission, speaking with an invisible gun held to his head. Should Johar have given in or stood up against the threat to his film? That’s a subject for another debate. Let’s take a look at the hypocritical hyper-nationalism surrounding the selective targeting of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM).

There is a large perception on social media that any support for ADHM will be against ‘national interest’ and disregard the efforts of our army jawans. The Cine Owners and Exhibitors Association of India has decided that no films starring Pakistani actors will be released in single screen theatres. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has threatened multiplex owners from screening ADHM, “...remember how expensive your glass walls are!” was a part of their message sent out - promising violence and vandalism if the film was screened. All this, while...

• India continues to have trade relations with Pakistan. Our exports to Pak are worth $ 2.2 billion, while Pakistan’s exports to India are valued at around $ 389 million.
• The government of India continues to issue visas to Pakistani actors. A few days ago a senior Home Ministry official clarified that there is no plan to revoke visas issued to Pakistani artistes working in India.
• The Samjhauta Express from Delhi to Lahore continues to run twice a week as does the ‘Sada-e-Sarhad’ peace bus service that plies between India and Pakistan.
• India’s sporting ties with Pakistan continue. The Hockey Mens Asian Champions Trophy starts on 20 October in Kuantan, Malaysia. India plays against Pakistan (the defending champions) on 23 October.

Fawad Khan in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. 

Basically, life continues normally on most fronts between India and Pakistan but we have a major issue with a film because it features a Pakistani actor, shot back in 2015. See how ridiculous that sounds? As someone commented, those protesting against ADHM seem to be more patriotic than even the government of India. Did I mention that the status of ‘Most Favoured Nation’ granted to Pakistan by India still stands?

Why this selective hypocrisy towards a film even from within the film industry?

In a recent interview, Madhur Bhandarkar also said the nation will be first for him and went on to ask the latest version of ‘whataboutery’ - “Have Pakistani artistes condemned attacks in India?”

Let’s see what Bhandarkar was busy with in December 2015, while Johar was shooting ADHM. The maker of Heroine was in Lahore, Pakistan receiving the Rafi Peer Memorial Award from Pakistani actress Zeeba.

Madhur Bhandarkar receives the Rafi Peer memorial award in Lahore, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

Has anyone checked if Zeeba condemned the Uri attacks? Even if she has not, will Bhandarkar as a symbolic gesture return his award to Pakistan to prove that for him nation does come first? Will the MNS protest outside his home and vandalise his property unless he does so?

Forget Bhandarkar, will the MNS threaten any of the corporates and business establishments that continue to have trade relations with Pakistan? Will they take a flight to Malaysia and dig up the ground where the Indo-Pak hockey match is scheduled? You know the answer to that already.

Staying with Bhandarkar, the filmmaker had slammed Anurag Kashyap’s tweets to the Prime Minister because he believes that (and rightly so) that neither the BJP nor the government has issued any ban on the film.

However, that’s not how it works - if the government does not appear to be acting against threats by groups like the MNS in assuring the public about the maintenance of law and order, it will be seen as supporting these very goons and vandals who have sent out open threats. By not taking steps to curb them, the government will be seen as having given a free run to these anti-social elements.

It was finally up to the producers to meet with the Mumbai Police yesterday to request that they help in the peaceful release of ADHM.

The joke here is that the MNS is attempting to come out of this entire episode by being seen as the doyen of patriotism. Remember, this is the same group that goes around threatening and beating up fellow Indians as a show of strength against ‘migrants’ in their own country.

Patriotic members of the MNS beating up a ‘migrant’ fruit vendor.

Coming back to the issue, even after an official statement from Fawad Khan against terrorism, the demand continues for him to condemn the Uri attacks. By the same logic, Fawad also did not condemn the surgical strikes by India across the LoC, so can we safely assume that he is supporting the Indian army’s bravado and let matters rest?

The tragedy is that we’ve once again ended up as a country where ‘goonda raj’ reigns and what we as citizens can choose to see, read or eat is decided by mobs. But that’s what we thought happens in countries like Pakistan, right?

I leave you with this subtle tweet by Sumit Purohit that I came across on my timeline yesterday:

Actually, this is a great way to resolve Ind-Pak crises. Adopt everything that’s wrong with them. Jab fark hee nahin rahega tab jhagaṛa kaisa.

(Actually this is a great way to resolve the Ind-Pak crisis. Adopt everything that’s wrong with them. Once there is no difference between the two, what will be left to fight about?)

Think about it.