Mahira Khan receives flak for her old ‘Bollywood-slamming’ video

A five-year old clip from a chat show with Pakistani comedian Omar Sharif has resurfaced online. It shows Pakistani actor Mahira Khan saying that one should never be inspired by Indians.

An old video of Pakistani actor Mahira Khan slamming the Indian film industry — in particular Bollywood — has resurfaced online. “Aapko India se inspire nahi hona chahiye. Bilkul nahi. Hum Bollywood nahi hain (We should never be inspired by Indians. We are not Bollywood),” she had said to Pakistani comedian Omar Sharif on a chat show in 2011.

In the video, Pakistani actor Mahira Khan says that one should never be inspired by Indians.

This comes at a time when Mahira’s film alongside Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is set for release in two weeks. Owing to a ban on Pakistani artists in India, Mahira anyway can’t promote the film here, and now, this video has generated much hate on social media not just for Mahira, but also the film.

“Boykot Rayees... See what mahir khan said about India and bollywood (sic),” user Facebook user, Yogesh Pai.

However, there were some users who trolled the haters. “The ppl overreacting about the “insult” (there was none) are the same ppl who are haters anyways. Makes no difference #Raees #MahiraKhan,” tweeted user Anil Gupta.

Meanwhile, Pakistani newspaper Dawn.com has stated that the comment was made in a larger context, about promoting Pakistani talent.