Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam massacre and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor, several Pakistani actors have been removed from Bollywood film posters and music thumbnails on various platforms. The move comes in the wake of a government advisory and growing public sentiment over the escalating cross-border hostilities.
Actors Mawra Hocane, Fawad Khan, and Mahira Khan — who have previously featured in popular Bollywood films — have had their images removed from promotional materials across streaming platforms. Hocane no longer appears on the Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) poster on Amazon Music and Spotify, leaving only Harshvardhan Rane visible. Mahira Khan has been erased from the thumbnail of the hit song Zaalima from Raees (2016) on YouTube, which now features Shah Rukh Khan alone. Similarly, Fawad Khan is missing from the Kapoor & Sons (2016) poster on Spotify, with only Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra shown.
This development also follows a heated online exchange between Mawra Hocane and Harshvardhan Rane, after Rane publicly declined to participate in Sanam Teri Kasam 2 if Hocane returned. He cited her recent comments criticizing India’s military actions as a key reason. Hocane responded by accusing Rane of using the situation as a “PR strategy,” prompting him to defend his stance as “common sense” and a response to a personal attack on his country.
The controversy intensified after several Pakistani stars, including Hocane, Fawad, and Mahira, condemned India’s air strikes on Pakistani territory carried out on May 7. These operations were part of India’s response to the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 people dead. Hocane labeled the Indian operation as a “cowardly attack,” while Mahira Khan accused India of “hate rhetoric” and “silencing dissent through fear.” Fawad Khan also criticized the air strike, calling for restraint and mourning the loss of innocent lives.
Earlier, both Hocane and Fawad had expressed condolences for victims of the April 22 attack, calling it a “horrifying incident” and offering prayers for the affected families.
On May 8, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued an official advisory directing OTT and digital media platforms to remove all Pakistani-origin content, citing national security concerns. Following this, several Pakistani celebrities’ social media accounts — including those of Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar, Mawra Hocane, and Fawad Khan — were restricted or blocked for Indian users.
This series of actions reflects the sharp deterioration in cultural and media ties between the two nations amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
