In order to avoid controversy, director Neeraj Pandey deleted the scenes of Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan, who was playing the role of Virat Kohli in the Dhoni biopic, from 'MS Dhoni The Untold Story'
Fawad Khan was selected and then cut unceremoniously without being informed from the MS Dhoni biopic
Pakistani film and television actor Fawad Afzal Khan. File Pic/AFP
At a time when uncertainty looms large over the release of three big banner multi-starrer Bollywood films -- 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', 'Raees' and 'Dear Zindagi' -- in India due to the presence of Pakistani actors in them, it has emerged that a film that has been released recently also would have faced similar problems but for the director agreeing to make a compromise.
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According to various reports in the media, Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan was playing the role of Virat Kohli in in the MS Dhoni biopic. His role hadn't been publicised since the makers wanted Fawad's role to be surprise package for the viewers.
But, that was not to be.
Audiences were denied a chance to see Fawad Khan play Virat with director Neeraj Pandey reportedly deleting his scenes in 'MS Dhoni The Untold Story'.
With right wing outfits seeking a complete ban on Pak artists, the makers of the film decided to censor their film for the sake of an uncontroversial and smooth release.
Raj Thackeray-led MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Pakistani actors and artists to leave India just ahead of the release of 'MS Dhoni'.
Afraid of the repercussions once the right-win party came to know of Fawad's involvement in his film, Neeraj decided to omit the Pak actor from the film to avoid negative publicity.
Apparently, a source told film portal BollywoodLife that Neeraj didn’t want the focus of the film to shift from MS Dhoni and Sushant Singh Rajput to Fawad Khan, Virat Kohli and Pakistan. The source also revelaed that Fawad wasn't even aware that his part has been omitted from the movie.
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