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Agence France-Presse

While conflict raged between the powerful militaries of India and Pakistan last month, a battle was also fought on the cultural front lines despite years of shared love for films and music.
The deadly fighting in early May – the worst in decades – affected artists previously untouched by animosity between their leaders.
Ali Gul Pir, a Pakistani rapper and comedian with a huge Indian following, released a song years ago mocking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While he was spared consequences then, in May his YouTube channel and Instagram profile were blocked in India.
“Indians now recognise that the digital space serves as a bridge between Pakistanis and Indians, and they seem intent on severing that connection,” Pir said.
The collapse in bilateral relations was caused by a deadly April attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad.


Pakistan denied the allegation and, after tit-for-tat diplomatic retaliation, their militaries fought for four days before a ceasefire was reached.
The conflict hit the music industry for the first time, with Pakistani singer Annural Khalid also remembering how her Indian following dropped off.
“Delhi was my top listening city before the ban,” said Khalid, who has 3.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
“I suffered a great loss in the audience” from India, she said, adding that “listeners were deprived of content because music was turned into something it is not.”
The conflict also scrubbed out some prior exchanges, such as the soundtrack of the 2017 film Raees on Spotify in India.

It now shows only Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan, without his Pakistani co-star Mahira Khan.
With Pakistan producing just a handful of films each year under strict censorship rules, Bollywood has always proven popular among viewers.
“I grew up watching Bollywood. We have the same traumas, we have the same history, we have the same stories,” said Pakistani film critic Sajeer Shaikh.
Pakistani actors and directors have for decades seen making it to Bollywood as the ultimate recognition.
But this month, Indian star Diljit Dosanjh announced his latest movie, Sardaar Ji 3, which features four Pakistani actors, would be released “overseas only”, after Delhi banned Pakistani content and artists from productions.

Abir Gulaal, a love story starring Pakistan’s Fawad Khan and Indian actor Vaani Kapoor, was scheduled to hit Indian cinemas on May 9, but the release was postponed.
Even some in the industry who had previously backed the cross-border artistic trade changed their tune last month.
“Everything should be banned … cricket, films, everything,” said Indian actor Suniel Shetty, who has a big fan following in Pakistan.
He starred in the 2004 movie Main Hoon Na, which subtly promotes peace between India and Pakistan.
Everything should be banned … cricket, films, everything
Suniel Shetty, Indian actor
“It’s something really unfortunate about politics, creating that rift and putting boundaries around art,” said Dua Zahra, assistant manager at Warner Bros South Asia’s music label in Pakistan.
As part of its measures in the wake of the Kashmir attack, Delhi’s ban on some Pakistani YouTube channels included private broadcaster HUM TV.
The channel, which says around 40 per cent of its viewers are from India, simply told its fans to use a VPN to continue watching.
Since Modi took office more than a decade ago, many Indian critics and filmmakers have warned that Bollywood is now increasingly promoting his government’s Hindu nationalist ideology.

While the conflict has created divisions on the cultural scene, there are signs that the trade will endure.
Over a month after the ceasefire, three Indian films were in the top 10 on Netflix Pakistan, while the top 20 trending songs in India included two Pakistani tracks.
Pir, the rapper and comedian, vowed to “bridge gaps”.
“Let’s not make war, let’s just make art,” he said. “Let’s just not bomb each other.”


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India-Pakistan tensions

Culture becomes a casualty of India-Pakistan conflict

A young boy walks past a poster advertising the film “Love Guru”, featuring Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, in Lahore earlier this month. Photo: AFP

Pakistani pop singer Annural Khalid says the Indian capital of New Delhi was her “top listening city” before her music was banned from streaming services. Photo: AFP

A Pakistani vendor poses for a photograph with pirated copies of Indian Bollywood film “Raees” at his shop in Karachi in 2017. Photo: AFP

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan (second from left) watches the daily India-Pakistan border ceremony with Indian Bollywood film actress Sonam Kapoor (centre) in 2014. Photo: AFP

Winning narrative? How India and Pakistan’s leaders seek cover under their flags

A fisherman places India’s national flags on his boat as he prepares for a boat rally to express solidarity with the Indian armed forces at the Kasimedu fishing harbour in Chennai on May 25. Photo: AFP

People carry India’s national flag as they take part in a rally on May 24 to express solidarity with the country’s armed forces after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire. Photo: AFP

Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir praying at a monument in Rawalpindi on May 21 to honour soldiers who lost their lives in line of duty. Photo: Handout/EPA-EFE

Pakistani activists hold portraits of Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir during a rally to show solidarity with the armed forces in Karachi on May 21. Photo: EPA-EFE

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing armed force personnel during his visit to Adampur Airforce Base in Punjab on May 13. Photo: Indian Press Information Bureau / AFP

A person stands in front of a billboard reading “Operation Sindoor”, a code name for a military campaign carried out by India across Pakistan, in Bengaluru on May 21. Photo: EPA-EFE

Activists from Indias Congress party burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump for what they claim to be his interference in the India-Pakistan conflict, during a protest in Kolkata on May 14. Photo: AFP

Indian women participate in a tricolour flag march in support of “Operation Sindoor” in Mumbai on May 22. Photo: EPA-EFE

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) waves to supporters during an event in Bihar on May 30. Modi has vowed to hunt down terrorists if they attack India again. Photo: AFP

How India and Pakistan are preparing for the next conflict

An Indian soldier keeps watch near the Line of Control separating Pakistan and India on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi salutes servicemen at an air base in Punjab on May 13. Photo: Indian Press Information Bureau/EPA-EFE

Indian soldiers man an artillery gun in the Poonch sector of India’s Jammu region on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

A J-10C fighter jet of Pakistan’s air force. Analysts say Pakistan is almost entirely reliant on China for arms upgrades. Photo: Handout

A Chinese J-35A stealth fighter jet performs during Airshow China in Zhuhai last year. Photo: Xinhua

A Tejas fighter jet of the Indian Air Force performs during an air show in Bangalore in 2021. Photo: AFP

Pakistan eyes more Chinese weapon systems after ‘clear-cut victory over India’

Pakistan is seeking to buy more Chinese J-35 stealth fighters. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s KJ-500 early warning aircraft (left) are being targeted for purchase by Pakistan’s military, analysts say. Photo: PLA Air Force

Pakistan is reportedly keen to buy China’s HQ-19 surface-to-air missile weapon system. Photo: AFP

An Indian soldier monitors near the Line of Control between Pakistan and India, in India’s Jammu region. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

South Asia

Pakistani singers have lost huge Indian fanbases and Bollywood films suddenly scrubbed out Pakistani co-stars


Pakistani singers have lost huge Indian fanbases and Bollywood films suddenly scrubbed out Pakistani co-stars.


Culture becomes a casualty of India-Pakistan conflict

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Pakistani singers have lost huge Indian fanbases and Bollywood films suddenly scrubbed out Pakistani co-stars

Pakistani singers have lost huge Indian fanbases and Bollywood films suddenly scrubbed out Pakistani co-stars