‘Art is not bigger than country…’: Ranbir Kapoor clears his stand on working in Pakistani films after controversy last year
Last year, at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Kapoor was asked if he would work with a Pakistani team, to which he replied in agreement and said that he thinks there are no boundaries for artists.
New Delhi: Actor Ranbir Kapoor has been into many controversies last year, one of which was his statement on wanting to work with Pakistani filmmakers. The actor has now made another statement to clarify his stand on it and has prioritised India over art this time. The Bollywood star addressed the issue during his film’s promotion in Chandigarh.
Last year, at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Kapoor was asked if he would work with a Pakistani team, to which he replied in agreement and said that he thinks there are no boundaries for artists. After this, he faced a backlash and was also called ‘unpatriotic’.
Clarifying his statement, he said that his statement was ‘misconstrued’. He added that he did not want to be controversial at the Red Sea International Film Festival and for him ‘films are films, art is art’. Ranbir said that he has worked with Fawad Khan in ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ and singers like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam have contributed to Hindi cinema, so cinemas do not see boundaries.
However, he added that one has to respect art but art is not bigger than the country and his first priority is his country.
Such controversies have risen since India imposed an informal ban on Pakistani artists in 2016 after the Uri terror attacks.
On the work front, Ranbir will next be seen in Luv Ranjan’s ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’ alongside Shraddha Kapoor. The film will release in theatres on March 8. The actor also has Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ‘Animal’ in the pipeline.