Amidst the escalating tension between India-Pakistan, it appears that superstar Shah Rukh Khan has finally given in to the demands of Raj Thackeray led MNS of banning Pakistani artists here.
MNS had targeted the superstar over the release of his movie ‘Raees’ as it featured Pakistani actress Mahira Khan and threatened to halt its release if the actress wasn’t replaced.
As per the recent buzz, SRK has chosen not to jeopardize their movies further and has decided to replace Mahira in the movie.
Indeed, it isn’t an easy decision for the ‘Raees’ makers, considering the much delay in the release of the movie.
However, a source told an entertainment portal, that there was a lot of pressure on producer Ritesh Sidhwani from a couple of months which reached to its peak post the Uri attacks.
The makers were yet to shoot several important scenes between Shah Rukh and Mahira. They were said to have put the scenes on hold since ‘Raees’ is scheduled to release in January 2017 and they were now tin a rush to complete the movie before time. Moreover, SRK got busy with two of his new projects, ‘Dear Zindagi’ with Alia Bhatt and ‘The Ring’ with Anushka sharma.
But taking in account the present scenario of Indo-Pak enmity, it is becoming impossible for team of ‘Raees’ to shoot with Pakistani actress. This is in turn affecting the shooting of ‘Raees’ since the sequences require both King Khan and Mahira in one frame.
“People suggested all kinds of solutions to the impasse, including shooting in Dubai. But it didn’t seem viable. Now, Mahira has unfortunately been relieved of her duties,” the source was quoted saying.
The makers are now, reportedly, in a quest to find a leading lady in replacement of Mahira and are said to zero-in an actress with in a span of two weeks.
Apparently, not just Mahira Khan but Fawad Khan too might loose out on Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ following the IMPPA’s ban on Pakistani artists and the anti-Pak wave sweeping across the country.
If the media reports are to be believed, KJo was considering replacing Fawad with Saif Ali Khan in ADHM with the help of face swapping technology.
However, since ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ is scheduled to release on October 28, this couldn’t be possible in such a short span.
Interestingly, Saif was said to be Johar’s first choice for Fawad’s role in the movie. But the director later changed his mind and roped in Fawad. Karan also considered Nawab of Pataudi for the role of Aishwarya’s estranged hubby in ADHM. But things didn’t work out and the role went to Shah Rukh Khan.
On the other hand, the leading actresses of the movie Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma are seen as Pakistani residents in the movie.
Though, KJo might not be able to replace Fawad at this point of time, he is planning to tweak the script in such a way that neither Aish nor Anushka are shown as Pakistani citizens in ADHM.
While the reports of Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan’s replacement from their respective movies are rife, the makers are yet to make any official announcement about the same.
