Karachi: Noisy protests erupted at the Karachi airport on Wednesday against Bollywood movie Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s director, Kabir Khan, as he was set to board a plane to Lahore, officials said.
Demonstrators shouting anti-India slogans mobbed the director, loudly asking him why he did not make movies depicting the role played by the Indian intelligence agency RAW in Pakistan.
At least one man waved a shoe at Khan who did not respond to the ruckus at the departure lounge, newspaper Dawn reported.
“You people send Jhadav and kill hundreds here. Why don’t you make a movie about it?” a protester asked the Phantom director, referring to alleged RAW official Kulbhushan Jhadav who has been arrested in Pakistan.
Starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, Phantom is about a retired Indian Army officer who leads a mission to kill Pakistani terrorist leader Hafiz Saeed.
Another shoe-wielding man chased Khan to the departure lounge, warning the director about “Indian conspiracies against the Pakistan Army”, Dawn said.
Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan received a warm response in Pakistan, where Indian movies are in great demand.
Phantom, based on a novel by S. Hussain Zaidi, was banned by the Lahore High Court.
Khan arrived there to take part in a conference and said he was a firm believer in India’s secular fabric and in the friendship between India and Pakistan.
