We have witnessed quite a few scenarios in the past where Indian celebrities tried splattering dirt on Pakistan and our actors gave a befitting response. Something similar happened when Veere Di Wedding actor Swara Bhasker called Pakistan a ‘failing state’ in an interview with Indian film critic Rajeev Masand.
Her comment came after Veere Di Wedding was banned in Pakistan following which we witnessed a mini storm in a teacup on social media. Urwa Hocane was the first to speak up against Swara’s nonsensical comment and other celebrities soon followed suit.
Mehwish tweeted that the fault lies with us for seeing Bollywood as a yardstick:
The comments made by @ReallySwara & Kangana Ranaut earlier just go to prove the point that I have been https://t.co/8RoaMTehPK cannot ignore 70 years of history & when the chips are down their nationalism will always come up trumps.The fault lies with us who see their indust..1/2
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) June 3, 2018
Industry as the height of achievement &remain so much in awe.We don’t need their validation,we know what we’re capable of.We should be proud that we’ve come so far in such a short period of time with little or no resources.Friendship yes,but not at the cost of our self respect2/2
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) June 3, 2018
Gohar Rasheed too was super irked:
In your interview you said “#Pakistan is a failing state, I don’t understand why we keep taking pleasure and feeling sense of self worth from all the things that happens in #Pakistan”. Let me inform you that #Pakistan is the 5th largest market for Bollywood films, (4/10)
— Mirza Gohar (@GoharRsd) June 3, 2018
So here's the reason why you take pleasure and feel a sense of worth from all the things that happen in Pakistan. Its the Pakistani fans and authorities that can determine the fate and worth of an Indian film in the global box office. (5/10)
— Mirza Gohar (@GoharRsd) June 3, 2018
Lastly you stated that “ Pakistanis have way worse vocabulary then we do” – odd that it's one aspect of #Pakistan you seemed to have taken an interest in, (7/10)
— Mirza Gohar (@GoharRsd) June 3, 2018
I suppose others would look into the literary advancements but clearly abusive language is your sphere of interest, (8/10)
— Mirza Gohar (@GoharRsd) June 3, 2018
However let me tell you, the way we give respect, spread peace and provide knowledge to ignorant attention seekers clearly reflects on where we stand intellectually. (9/10) #SwaraBhaskar #AttentionSeeker
— Mirza Gohar (@GoharRsd) June 3, 2018
Armeena Khan also spoke up on the issue:
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1003225363382767616
https://twitter.com/ArmeenaRK/status/1003222557485600768
Swara did respond to all the backlash coming her way which was even worse than her comment:
🙈🙈🙈🙈 Dushman ka dushman Dost!!! I’m totally okay with with being the dushman in this case if it brings some dosti to us bickering neighbours 🙂 🙂 Peace and love guys! ❤️ https://t.co/Fz82K6Wj9b
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 3, 2018
Thanks Anshul! there should we a distinction between States/ govts of a country & the people of that country. My regard for & goodwill towards the people of #Pakistan remains unchanged. Some of my closest friends are Pakistani. Lahore remains one of my soul cities. ❤️❤️💕💕 https://t.co/JHImDSnwKU
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 4, 2018
Well, this just goes to show that when Swara called Pakistan a failing state she was vying for for attention. About time, people learn to weigh their words instead of acting churlish and hogging the limelight for all the wrong reasons.