Actor Lakshmi Manchu has spoken out firmly against growing calls to ban Pakistani artists from Indian cinema amid renewed tensions between India and Pakistan. Her comments come as backlash intensifies against actors like Diljit Dosanjh and Vaani Kapoor for working with Pakistani talent.
Currently, Diljit Dosanjh is being criticised for sharing the screen with Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in the upcoming film Sardaar Ji 3. Earlier this year, Vaani Kapoor faced similar backlash for her role opposite Fawad Khan in Abir Gulaal, a film that was pulled from release following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives.
In a clear stand against the reactionary calls for bans, Lakshmi said, “Don’t politicise art. Go after the people who are causing the trouble. You can’t just throw a blanket ban on everybody and say no, you can’t work with them. Where is our growth? Where is our warmth?”
She questioned the logic behind targeting actors and restricting their work. “Where are our hearts now? Why are we going after artists? What threat are they to India? Banning someone’s Instagram – how insecure are you? We need to find common ground and fight the real enemy, not each other.”
Lakshmi, who recently appeared in The Traitors, expressed that such discussions deeply affect her. “I do feel hurt. We are entertainers, storytellers. We hold a mirror to society. When someone says ‘you can’t do this,’ it’s hard to digest.”
Highlighting the emotional toll of rising hate and division, she added, “Only a pained and unhealed man will talk like that. How long are we going to keep fighting? We’re all in this together. We need to find more love, more humanity.”
The India-Pakistan relationship further deteriorated following the Pahalgam attack, leading to Operation Sindoor — a retaliatory military strike on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. In the aftermath, nationalist sentiment surged, with louder demands to ban Pakistani actors and projects involving them.
Lakshmi Manchu’s message stands out as a plea to preserve artistic integrity in times of political crisis.