Abir Gulaal's songs deleted from YouTube as Fawad Khan's film faces boycott calls

Economic Times

25-04-2025

ET Online The Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of at least 26 people, has sparked widespread anger and grief. People across India are saddened by the loss of innocent lives. In the middle of this, a controversy has been raging over the release of Abir Gulaal. The film stars Vaani Kapoor and Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. Amid the heated debate around its release, the songs of Abir Gulaal have been removed from YouTube India.
The involvement of Fawad Khan has led to a lot of backlash against Abir Gulaal. Many social media users have criticised the makers' decision to cast a Pakistani actor in the light of tensions between India and Pakistan and the Pahalgam attack. Many have called for Abir Gulaal's boycott. The attack has led to renewed demands of a ban on working with Pakistani artistes.Two songs of the film- Angreji Rangrasiya and Khudaya Ishq - have been taken down from YouTube India. The songs were earlier present on the channels of Saragama and A Richer Lens Entertainment, before they were seemingly deleted. Notably, Saregama holds the official rights to Abir Gulaal's music. Coming to the songs themselves, Khudaya Ishq is a peppy romantic track crooned by Airijit Singh and Shilpa Rao. The other track, Angreji Rangrasiya, is an upbeat melody sung by Amit Trivedi.
Another song, Tain Tain, was set to be released on Wednesday, but has now been postponed. There is no update on whether the song will be released or not. The makers and cast of Abir Gulaal have not given any statement on the film's content disappearing from YouTube India.
As per reports, sources in the Information and Broadcasting ministry said that the government has decided to deny Abir Gulaal permission to release in India. The movie was earlier set to hit theatres on May 9.Indian film federation bodies have also objected to the release of Fawad Khan's romantic comedy in India. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has stated that it would not let Abir Gulaal release. The Indian Film & Television Directors' Association has said it will call for a boycott of anyone who collaborates with Pakistani artistes.Abir Gulaal marked Fawad Khan's Bollywood comeback after a gap of nine years. He was last seen in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The Karan Johar directorial was also the subject of controversy following the 2016 Uri attack and led to calls for a ban on working with Pakistani artistes. Directed by Aarti S Bagdi, Abir Gulaal also stars Vaani Kapoor, Farida Jalal, Ridhi Dogra, and Parmeet Sethi.
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