Shah Rukh Khan and Mahira Khan in Raees. (Image courtesy: YouTube)
Highlights
- Mahira was not invited to promote Raees in India
- The film needed to be released, said Mahira Khan
- Raees was Mahira Khan's Bollywood debut
director Rahul Dholakia says that he feels that they "have wronged Mahira Khan," the film's lead actress, who was not invited to India for the film's promotion. In a recent interview to
Bollywood Hungama at an award show in Dubai, the 32-year-old Pakistani actress was all praises for team
Raees. Rahul Dholakia was moved by Mahira's interview and shared it on Twitter adding: "So sweet! Somewhere I feel we have wronged her. Our people forgot that she is an artist, not the enemy. We took away her right as an actor. Unfair. Mahira Khan you are wonderful and thank you for being a part of
Raees."
Mahira Khan plays actor Shah Rukh Khan's onscreen wife in the crime thriller, which released in January. Due to the deterioration of Indo-Pak relations after the 2016 Uri attack, some political outfits objected to the casting pf Pakistani actors in Bollywood films. Karan Johar's
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was also entangled in the controversy and the director had to axe actor Fawad Khan's screen time.
The makers of
Raees (Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani) along with lead actor Shah Rukh Khan met the leaders of the aforementioned political parties and settled to retain Mahira's part in the film but she was not invited to India for the film's promotion. She did her
bit to promote Raees on social media, after all it was her Bollywood debut film.
Talking about her experience of filming Raees, Mahira told
Bollywood Hungama: "Whether it was Shah Rukh Khan or Rahul or Ritesh Sidhwani or Farhan Akhtar, they all have been so amazing. At the end of the day, it's about films, which is bigger than all of us combined.
The film needed to be released. The film had to do well. They were all amazing. They still are."
Mahira Khan was last seen in Pakistani film
Verna, which tacked a fair share of controversies in the country.