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It was last night when the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) issued a notice warning Indian musicians, who were working with Pakistani artists, even after the organisation had restricted the same. Now in an exclusive chat with Koimoi, President B N Tiwari, opened up on why the board decided to issue the notice and how he had put the ban on Navjot Singh Sidhu due to the same reason.
For the unversed, FWICE issued the notice yesterday after they got to know that musicians in India have collaborated with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for a digital initiative. As for Navjot Singh Sidhu, the former cricketer was told to step down from Kapil Sharma’s comedy show the Kapil Sharma Show after he made some remarks regarding India and Pakistan.
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When we contacted President B N Tiwari, and inquired why the federation took this step, he said, “FWICE is the mother body of the film industry. After the Pulwama attack we had issued a notice that no artist be it actor, director, producer or any, will neither go to Pakistan nor work with any Pakistani artist. Because we think we should not be working with people who are back stabbing us.”
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He added, “We have enough talent in our country, be it amazing singers and skilled actors. Then why do you need Pakistani artists? You can go there with Shabana Azmi, or Javed Akhtar or Naseerji (Naseeruddin). Why do we need to ignore our talent and work with them.”
Further talking about how the federation cannot forget the sacrifices that the people from our country have made and it is essential to them, said, ‘This was the same reason why I removed Navjot Singh Sidhu from The Kapil Sharma Show. He hasn’t appeared on the show since then. We love what we have, the sacrifices that our people make is essential to us. “
Talking about the Rahat Fateh Ali Khan episode that led to the notice being circulated, he said, “There is a point in the notice that says that the warning we issued during Pulwama is still active. So if without permission during the lockdown if you are conducting lives through internet is wrong. If it was in the betterment of the country, people talking about the pandemic and how to curb it, it would still make sense. But here it was just a gig where people are telling each other to sing songs. Where there are people stuck, many with no jobs and wages, a Pakistani artist coming in and talking about entertaining is not good.”
The federation in it’s notice has stated that anyone found violating the norms will have to face strict disciplinary action stated by FWICE.
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