My quote on Pak artist ban was distorted to create controversy: Ajay Devgn | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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My quote on Pak artist ban was distorted to create controversy: Ajay Devgn

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Oct 27, 2016 01:32 PM IST

The actor-filmmaker says he had also said that films (such as Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees) that had completed production with Pakistani artists should not be banned, but that wasn’t reported.

Remember reports about actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn favouring a ban on the release of films starring Pakistani actors? Firstly, Devgn says his quote was misconstrued. Secondly, he’s unhappy with his film, Shivaay, becoming a talking point for controversies rather than its merit.

The actor-filmmaker says the fact that he also said that films that had completed production with Pakistani artists should not be banned, was not reported.(Raajessh Kashyap/HT Photo)
The actor-filmmaker says the fact that he also said that films that had completed production with Pakistani artists should not be banned, was not reported.(Raajessh Kashyap/HT Photo)

“They (the publication) took an incomplete statement. I had also said that films that had completed production with Pakistani artists should not be banned. (But) The statement was distorted just to create a controversy. They should have been fair to me,” says the 47-year-old.

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Devgn’s film is up for a box-office clash with filmmaker Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil this Friday, and Ajay’s statement was received as a blow to ADHM, which stars Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. Fed up with negative publicity, Devgn rues that the hard work of his film’s team is going unnoticed, as no one is focussing on the film.

“After the trailer releases, everyone says it looks good. But the next day, you realise there’s a controversy that is making people talk about the film. It’s upsetting that you work so hard for two years and everyone chooses to talk about something completely different. I try to ignore it most of the times, but, sometimes, it gets to me,” says the actor.

The industry has a mixed voice when it comes to taking a stand on the Pakistani artists ban. Devgn says that’s a good thing. “There will be a divided opinion everywhere you go. The industry is a part of the society, so you’re bound to have different opinions and that’s good. You can have a different opinion as long as you’re supporting the film industry,” he says.

As for his film — his second directorial (first was U Me Aur Hum in 2008) — Devgn says the film’s storyline is close to his heart. “When I started writing this film, I was feeling a strong emotion with my kids (Nysa and Yug; with wife, actor Kajol). The bond between a parent and child is of unconditional love. I made a storyline with that thought,” he concludes.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Samarth Goyal writes on Hollywood and music, for the daily Entertainment and Lifestyle supplement, HT City.

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