Lakshmi Manchu on ban on Pakistani actors in India: ‘How insecure are you?’

Currently, Diljit Dosanjh is under fire for working with Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3. Vaani Kapoor also faced backlash for starring alongside Fawad Khan.

The strained India-Pakistan relations have sparked fresh calls for a ban on Pakistani actors in India, with Vaani Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh recently facing criticism for working with Pakistani talent. Actor Lakshmi Manchu has, however, expressed her disagreement with this stance, arguing that art and politics should be kept separate.

Lakshmi Manchu was most recently seen in reality show, The Traitors.

On ban on Pakistani talent

Currently, Diljit Dosanjh is under fire for sharing the screen with Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3. Earlier this year, Vaani Kapoor faced backlash for starring alongside Fawad Khan in Abir Gulaal, whose release was halted following the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

“Don't politicise art. Go after the people who are causing the trouble. You can’t just throw a blanket ban on everybody and say no (you can’t work with them). Where is our growth? Where is our warmth? As Indians, we welcomed all these people with open hearts,” Lakshmi says when asked about her stance on the ban calls.

The actor adds, “Where are our hearts now? Politics is one way, but why cattle herding and blanketing? Why are they going after an actor? What threat are they to India, and banning their Instagram? Like how insecure are you? Rather than a divide and rule policy, we need to find ways around how we can find a common ground and fight together against the common enemy.”

Time to find humanity

Laksmi, who was most recently seen in The Traitors, gets hurt whenever such a conversation emerges.

“I do feel hurt that when it comes to artists. We are doing films. We are entertainers. We are supposed to put a mirror out to society about what is going on. We are given the freedom of fiction. Then one says ‘you can't’. It's really hard for me to digest,” she says.

At the moment, the actor feels people are driven by hate and looking for someone to blame.

“You can choose that route if that gives you solace. But only a pained and unhealed man will talk like that...How long are we going to keep fighting? We're all here together. We're all one way....We need to find more humanity and more love towards each other,” she ends.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated significantly following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 people. The incident has sparked a diplomatic crisis. On May 7, Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor, a targeted strike mission to destroy terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Amid the tensions, calls to boycott Pakistani actors got louder, following which the release of Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor’s Abir Gulaal was stalled.