The recent attack on the CRPF convoy at Awantipora in Pulwama has jolted the nation like nothing else. More than 40 CRPF personnel had been martyred in the suicide explosion, executed by the local cell of the notorious terror outfit Jaish e Muhammad. Ever since the confirmation of the same, the Indians have united in their call to boycott Pakistan and hit them hard in every aspect.
From economically boycotting them to imposing ban on Pakistani artistes, India is pulling out all stops to ensure that the country is condemned for this act. While the masses, as well as most of the actors are backing this move, the usual suspects from the ‘Aman ki Asha’ brigade are crying hoarse for the same.
However, in this melee, a famous actress Vidya Balan has taken a firm position. To quote her recent interaction with the media over the ban on Pakistani artistes, “Though I have always believed that art should be kept away from all boundaries and politics, I think we have to take a stand now. Enough is enough.”
She further added, ”As an individual I believe that there is no better way to bring people together than arts, be it music, poetry, dance, theatre, cinema or any other art form. But this time I think we should just take a break from this practice and see what can be done for the future. As I said, some tough calls have to be taken at some point.”
This is exactly what people have been demanding, and it is rather welcome to see that even Vidya Balan is supporting this approach. She is not the only one to have said so. Actors like Kangana Ranaut and Akshay Kumar have been vocal about their opinion of keeping national interests above anything else right now. Vicky Kaushal has always been supportive of the ban on Pakistani artistes, when he explained to a journalist that ‘you cannot have your business over the corpses of your soldiers. We’re answerable to them as well.’
Also, with this statement, Vidya Balan has hit hard on the absurd call of ‘peace at all costs’ by the ‘Aman ki Asha brigade’, which comprises a large chunk of stars from the elite faction of Bollywood. Peace is not possible with a state like Pakistan, where destruction of India is the sole aim for those ruling the country as of now. In such troublesome times, we welcome the statement of Vidya Balan and hope that other people also think of nation first for now.