A Bollywood film starring Pakistani A-lister Fawad Khan in the lead role has been pulled from Indian release following a deadly attack in New Delhi-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.

The move, part of an informal but powerful ban on artists from across the border, threatens to undo years of cultural exchange between India and Pakistan.

The April 22 killing in the mountain town of Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, was thedeadliest in years in the disputed region that both countries claim in full but administer in part. India has held Pakistanindirectly responsible for the violence, which reignited nationalist anger across the country.

Denying any involvement, Islamabadcalled attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack “frivolous” and vowed to respond to any Indian action.

Shortly after the attack, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE)issued a strongly worded statement reaffirming its long-standing ban on Pakistani actors, singers, and technicians.

Social media campaigns and mainstream media outlets echoed the call, with hashtags like #BoycottAbirGulaal trending online.

“It’s disappointing… Cricket and entertainment always get the first hit when the two countries fight. That’s because both sports and entertainment are symbolic manifestations of the state,” says Abdul Rafay Mahmood, a cultural critic and assistant professor of practice at Habib University, Karachi.

Hindi and Urdu – the primary languages of Bollywood and its Pakistani counterpart known as Lollywood – are mutually intelligible. Shared cultural references, such as music, food, and traditions, make films relatable to audiences on both sides of the border.

For Pakistani actors, Bollywood’s global reach offers fame and financial rewards that are hard to achieve in the local film industry. Indian films, meanwhile, enjoy a massive following in Pakistan, providing Bollywood film producers with substantial revenues.

“When you ban any form of art, the loss is not of economic value. The loss is of social value,” Mahmood tells TRT World.

This is not the first time India has banned Pakistani actors. For about a decade, artists from across the border frequently appeared in mainstream Bollywood movies, until 2016, when New Delhiimposed a blanket ban in response to theUri attack in Kashmir that killed 19 soldiers.

An Indian courtlifted the ban in 2023, paving the way for projects like the movie Abir Gulaalfeaturing Pakistan’s Khan. Originally due for worldwide release on May 9, the film’s songs were released a week ago, only to betaken off YouTube India immediately after the Pahalgam attack.

Pakistani actors have long enjoyed widespread popularity in India, despite Bollywood being bigger than Pakistan’s film industry by many orders of magnitude. Much of their appeal stems from the popularity of Pakistani dramas, which are widely watched in India via YouTube, Mahmood says.

Pakistani actors are also sought after for their good looks, talent, novelty factor, and a “totally different” mannerism, he adds.

“What Bollywood is losing [through the ban] is its value as the epitome of cultural inclusivity, of true and honest art. Its art is no longer representative of the liberal values that the art is always supposed to inspire,” Mahmood says.

After the 2016 Uri attack, anti-Pakistan content in mainstream Bollywood movies became more pronounced. Thisshift, Mahmood notes, coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist agenda, intertwining anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiment.

Movies like Raazi (2018), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Shershaah (2021), Pathaan (2023), and The Kashmir Files (2022) often portray Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism within India.