The escalating tension between India and Pakistan has divided Bollywood like never before. While actors and directors are making their stand clear on banning Pakistani artistes, veteran actors like Suresh Oberoi and Nana Patekar have sparked an undying controversy with their statements on banning the actors from Indian film industry.
But the most shocking statement came from actor Om Puri. The actor, who came out in support of Salman Khan’s opinion (Pakistani actors are not terrorists), ended up insulting Indian martyrs while he was clarifying his support for Pakistani actors. Om Puri said to the media, “You want India-Pakistan to be turned into Israel and Palestine and indulge in a fight for centuries? It is not merely a division the country, it is the partition of families.”
Standing firm on his opinion to not ban Pakistani artistes, the 65-year old actor said, “Art and politics should be kept separate and banning the artistes will not change the situation.” He added that he will continue to work with Pak actors and will not boycott them.
In a heated debate on a news channel, when he was asked about the soldiers who had lost their lives in the recent Baramulla and Uri attacks, he shockingly said, “Did we force them to join the army? Who had asked them to lift the weapons?” and added, “Prepare 15-20 people as suicide bombers and send them to Pakistan.”
In no time, this regressive and insulting statement resulted in an uproar on the social media and the actor faced strong backlash on Twitter. Not just Twitteratis, his statement was criticized by the likes of Paresh Rawal and other celebs.
Never thought someone like Om Puri ji would make such a shameful comment. Sad. This is so heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/lBPrsQLft2
