'Total Dhamaal' won't release in Pakistan

"Total Dhamaal", a Bollywood entertainer, will not be released in Pakistan. "In light of the current situation, the team of 'Total Dhamaal' has decided to not release the film in Pakistan," actors Ajay Devgn and Ritiesh Deshmukh tweeted.

Their decision is in sync with the Federation of Western India Cine Employees' (FWICE) stand that Indian filmmakers will not be allowed to release films in Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama attack, in which 49 CRPF troopers were killed. The FWICE has also demanded that Indian movie makers should not collaborate with Pakistani artistes.

At a press conference here on Monday, Ajay Devgn said they will comply with the FWICE demands.

Riteish, son of late Maharashtra Chief Vilasrao Deshmukh, said: "Everyone is hurt by what has happened. We are united... We must trust the Indian Army, and must not react in a hasty manner on social media. Believe in the army."

In the worst terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in the state in 1989, a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber on February 14 rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in the Pulwama district.

The attack, much like the one in Uri in 2016, has impacted cultural ties between the two nations.

"Total Dhamaal" is the third installment of the successful franchise "Dhamaal" that originally starred Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey and Riteish Deshmukh alongside Sanjay Dutt.

It also stars Madhuri Dixit Nene, Anil Kapoor and Boman Irani. Co-produced by Fox Star Studios, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, Ashok Thakeria, Kumar, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Anand Pandit, Sangeeta Ahir and Kumar Mangat Pathak, the film is slated for release on February 22.

--IANS

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