Fawad Khan & Vaani Kapoor’s Abir Gulaal to release after controversy, will Indians get to watch it?

Fawad Khan was supposed to make his Bollywood return with Vaani Kapoor in the romantic film, Abir Gulaal, earlier this year. But the film’s release was cancelled after the Pahalgam terror attack that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. Now, the film is all set to see the light of day. The Aarti S Bagdi directorial will have its global release this month. However, the film will not be released in India due to ongoing tensions with its neighbouring country.

While the teaser and the songs received a lot of love from the Indian audience, it was heavily criticised after the Pahalgam attack. People demanded a ban on Fawad and the release of the film, stalling his Bollywood comeback plans. Vaani was also trolled for working with a Pakistani actor. The YouTube channel of the production house also deleted the songs of the film. Moreover, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) called for a boycott of the movie and a complete non-cooperation with all Pakistani artists, singers, and technicians within the Indian film and entertainment industry.

The Aarti S Bagadi directorial revolved around two people who meet by chance and find solace in each other. Abir Gulaal also starred Riddhi Dogra, Lisa Haydon, Farida Jalal, Soni Razdan and Parmeet Sethi among others. Recently, Vaani opened up about the criticism the film had been facing and said, “There’s so much toxicity and hate… I keep hearing ‘boycott this one, cancel that one.’ Mat karo yaar (don’t do this), have room and let people be.”