As diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, a quiet purge of Pakistani talent from Indian entertainment platforms appears to be underway. Actors like Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, and Mawra Hocane are vanishing from album artworks of popular Bollywood films on major music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music.

On Monday, fans noticed that Mawra Hocane had been removed from the album covers of her 2016 film Sanam Teri Kasam, leaving only co-star Harshvardhan Rane featured in the promotional imagery. This visual alteration sparked conversation online, especially as similar changes began surfacing across other titles.

In the case of Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, Mahira Khan’s image has been wiped off the album cover as well. Where once both stars appeared together in promotional material, the updated version now features Shah Rukh alone, echoing the earlier edit made to Mawra’s film.

The trend continues with Fawad Khan, who starred in Kapoor & Sons. The song “Buddhu Sa Mann”, which featured him alongside Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, has not only had its poster altered to remove Fawad’s image, but the video itself is now blocked for Indian viewers on YouTube. The page displays the message, “Video unavailable. The uploader has not made this video available in your country.”

Interestingly, the album poster of Khoobsurat—another Bollywood film featuring Fawad opposite Sonam Kapoor—remains unchanged for now.

Reacting to the changes, Sanam Teri Kasam producer Deepak Mukut told Hindustan Times he wasn’t consulted on the removal of Mawra’s image. “They didn’t ask me, it’s their decision. Whatever our government says, everyone has to follow,” he said. Actor Harshvardhan Rane also commented on the development, joking, “Now they will say that my PR team got this done! No, it’s again common sense I assume, weeding is being exercised.”

These removals come in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives in South Kashmir. The government’s measures included banning Pakistani content across OTT and streaming platforms, as part of a broader crackdown.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first remarks following the May 7 strikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, declared a new strategic stance. “Operation Sindoor is now India’s policy against terror,” he said, adding that India will no longer tolerate “nuclear blackmail” and that strikes on “universities of terror” will define the new normal in Indo-Pak relations.