A police complaint was filed against actor Om Puri in Mumbai on Tuesday for his remarks on Indian soldiers' deaths. During a debate on news channel IBN7, the veteran actor had said, "We have not forced them [soldiers] to join the Army...Prepare 15-20 people as suicide bombers and send them to Pakistan." His comments had drawn severe criticism from sections of social media as well as his colleagues.
Puri's statements appear to be a reaction to the banning of Pakistani actors in Indian projects following the attack on the Army's Uri base, which India accuses Pakistan of planning. He had said during the debate, "...India is home to crores of Muslims...Several Indians have their relatives staying across the border and vice-versa. How can they fight a war with their cross-border families?"
The actor later clarified his comments, saying he had only intended to criticise the ban on Pakistani actors. On September 29, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association "banned" Pakistani actors and technicians from shooting in India till "normalcy". The ban on Pakistani actors came hours after India announced it had conducted "surgical strikes on terror launchpads" along the Line of Control with Pakistan. Relations between India and Pakistan soured after the militant attack in Uri on September 18.
Earlier in the day, Puri had called for arts and politics to be treated separately and stressed that banning Pakistani artistes will not help address the issues India has with Pakistan. He said the actors entered the country with valid documents. Puri has worked on cross-border film collaborations such as Actor in Law.
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