Ratna Pathak Shah, who has played mother to Fawad Khan in "Khoobsurat" and "Kapoor & Sons", says she would like to see more participation across nations in arts and working with Pakistani ators is not an "insurmountable problem".
Fawad, already a big name in Pakistan, became a heartthrob in India after his debut with "Khoobsurat". However, the clamour against Pakistani artists just before the release of his film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" prompted him to leave the country, ending his Bollywood career.
Asked if not letting Fawad Khan work in India was a problem, Ratna told PTI, "It is a problem but it's not an insurmountable problem. Nobody is unhappy that these poor guys have been thrown out of the business. I don't know what that says about the people who went after Fawad and saw to it that he'll never get to work again.
"I know what it says about them and I don't like what it says about them. I think it's a limited and a silly vision to have. I would like to see much more participation across nations in arts. Art is one area where we can make connections. We can hear different stories, we can look at the world with fresh eyes."
The 60-year-old actress, who will next be seen in "Lipstick Under My Burkha", believes films like these will help motivate people to do something different and difficult.
"You should not be (myopic) ideally but if there is such myopia, I think more of these kind of films ('Lipstick Under My Burkha') will help break the myopia than saying 'lets not make these films because they're difficult to make.' Just because a thing is difficult it isn't that it can't be done. You can't let that stop you," she said.
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