In an era where cinema is meant to transcend borders, Bollywood seems to have taken a disheartening step backwards. Following the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan after the May 7 attack initiated by India, a curious and telling trend has surfaced: Pakistani stars Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, and Mawra Hocane have been quietly edited out of the official posters of their Bollywood films.
The move has sparked widespread debate and disappointment among fans and industry insiders alike. These actors weren’t just minor participants — they played central roles in the very films they’re now being erased from. Fawad Khan delivered a career-defining performance in Kapoor & Sons, Mahira Khan made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the high-profile Raees, and Mawra Hocane won hearts in Sanam Teri Kasam. Their removal from promotional material is not only a disservice to their work but also a troubling sign of how political tensions can rewrite creative history.
For many, it evokes déjà vu. This isn’t the first time art has paid the price for politics in the subcontinent. The cultural collaboration between India and Pakistan has long been a fragile thread—constantly fraying under the weight of cross-border hostility. But the digital scrubbing of artists from film posters feels especially petty, and ironically, futile. These films have already been released. The performances are immortalized on screen. Fans remember.
More troubling, however, is the signal this sends: that artists can be conveniently erased when the political climate demands it. That cinema — a medium that has often stood as a bridge between the two nations — can be repurposed as a tool of silent exclusion.
As calls for cultural boycotts grow louder, it’s worth remembering that art thrives on exchange, diversity, and dialogue. And while posters may be reprinted and pixels may be manipulated, the impact of Fawad, Mahira, and Mawra’s performances lives on — unedited, unfiltered, and unforgettable.