The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) recently issued a strong letter to Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan, urging him to withdraw from the upcoming Azadi Utsav – The Indian Independence Day event in Houston, USA.
However, Kartik Aaryan’s team has officially clarified that the actor was never associated with the event in any capacity.
In a statement, they said, “Kartik Aaryan is not associated with this event in any capacity. He has never made an official announcement about participating in this event. We have contacted the organizers and requested to remove all promotional materials featuring his name and image.”
Given that Aga's Restaurant and Catering, a Pakistani-owned business run by Mr. Shaukat Maredia, is organising the event, the federation raised concerns about national interest and cited prohibitions against working with Pakistani organisations.
The reason for FWICE's objection is that Aga's Restaurant is also supporting Jashn-e-Azadi, a celebration of Pakistan Independence Day that features singer Atif Aslam.
Kartik and others were reminded by the federation, which represents 36 crafts in the Indian film and television industry, of long-standing industry and government directives that demand a total boycott of Pakistani artists and collaborators because of persistent national security concerns.
The directive has become even more urgent in the wake of recent terror attacks, such as the Pahalgam incident, which claimed the lives of Indian tourists and civilians and was attributed to elements based in Pakistan.
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