Working with Pakistani actor: Bollywood heroine responds!

Back in the day, there was this famous culture in the Bollywood film industry where several Pakistani actors were given working opportunities here. That is not the case now as Bollywood industry has principally agreed to set aside Pakistani workforce.

Actress Vaani Kapoor recently spoke about the controversy around her unreleased film Abir Gulaal, which starred Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The film was supposed to release on May 9 but was delayed after a terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. This led to a lot of hate and trolling on social media.

At the launch event of her upcoming Netflix series Mandala Murders, Vaani said the past few months had been very “hectic and heavy” due to all the negativity online.

Without directly naming Abir Gulaal, she urged people to stop spreading hate and try to be more kind and understanding. She said that what you give out will come back to you, so it’s better to spread love and be positive. Vaani added that it’s important to be kind not just to others, but also to ourselves.

Vaani will be seen next in Mandala Murders, a crime thriller series releasing on Netflix on July 25, 2025. It also stars Surveen Chawla and Raghubir Yadav. She said she enjoyed working on the show and was given space to bring her character to life naturally. Vaani hopes the focus will shift from hate to empathy and creativity.