Bollywood’s Khiladi Akshay Kumar recently attended Saudi Arabia's star-studded Red Sea International Film Festival which was held in Jeddah. During an in-conversation session at the festival, one man from Pakistan asked Akshay about his film ‘Bell Bottom’ and alleged that it showed certain things against Pakistan. The actor while reacting to this, explained to him that it was just a film and that he should not get serious about it.
The man asked Akshay, “I’m from Pakistan, your neighbour country. I have a request. You do fantastic movies like Pad Man and Toilet. There is an issue between India and Pakistan as well. Your recent movie Bell Bottom has certain things against Pakistan.” Replying to this, the Laxmii actor stated, “Sir, it’s just a movie. Don’t get so serious about it. It’s just a movie. There are many things like that. It’s just a movie, sir.”
For the unversed, directed by Ranjit Tiwari, Bell Bottom, which was set in the 1980s, starred Akshay in the role of an Indian secret agent and narrated a story of how an airplane of Indian Airlines gets hijacking and a mission to rescue the passengers is carried out by Akshay. While the film garnered praise in India, it received severe backlash overseas and was banned in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Inspired by real-life hijackings by Khalistani terrorists, the film also featured Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta, and Huma Qureshi in lead roles.
Meanwhile, a host of Bollywood celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sonam Kapoor, AR Rahman, and others were spotted at the opening day of the Red Sea International Film Festival. Notably, SRK and Kajol impressed everyone at the opening ceremony by recreating scenes from their iconic film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge.’
