Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shraddha Srinath, Ali Fazal and Ashutosh Rana at the trailer launch of Milan Talkies. (Express photo: Varinder Chawla)Director Tigmanshu Dhulia on Wednesday announced that Milan Talkies, starring Ali Fazal, Sikander Kher and Shraddha Srinath, will not release in Pakistan.
The decision comes just days after a suicide bomber rammed an SUV laden with explosives into a bus in Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF jawans and injuring several others.
Speaking at the trailer launch of Milan Talkies, Tigmanshu Dhulia said, “No, it will not be releasing in Pakistan. For two reasons. First, we stand in solidarity. Second, piracy originates from Pakistan. So we should never release our films there, irrespective of any reasons.”
The film’s team was later asked about the way civilians are reacting to the attack.
Ali Fazal said, “During demonetisation, we all had become economists. Now this time also, we all have ‘solutions’. But, I think we should trust the army. They are doing their job. We have a great army and we should stand in solidarity because our country comes first.”
Sikander Kher too expressed similar sentiments. He said, “It is easy for me to stand here and say, go and kill, because I am not going and killing, right? So again we are sending the jawans only. So as Ali rightly said, the army knows what they are going to do. We all stand in solidarity. We need to let the army decide. We should stop being ‘gyanis’. I am not going to say ‘go go, kill kill,’ because I am not going to go there and do it. We are with them (the armed forces). We completely condone what has happened, but let them do what they have to do.”
Shraddha Srinath, who has predominantly appeared in Kannada and Tamil films, is making her Bollywood debut with Milan Talkies.
At the event, Shraddha shared her personal experience of being an army child.
She said, “My father served in the army for 30 years. I have heard these news since I was a child. There were times when we were afraid for my father. We would just be waiting for his call, to hear his voice to know that he is okay. We have seen death very closely. We have seen dad’s coursemates dying on the field. We have seen friends becoming orphans in a matter of minutes. This is a very sensitive topic. The army knows what it is doing. War is easy to say, easy to make films on, but it’s a whole different scene out there. We should be opinionated, but we should put our trust in the government and the army. They know what they are doing.”
Milan Talkies is scheduled to release on March 15, 2019.
