Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor has deleted all the promotional content showing Pakistani actor Fawad Khan from her Instagram handle. This encompasses any references to the film Abir Gulaal, which stars Vaani and co-stars Fawad. These posts were deleted following significant backlash after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. Government officials have stated that the film will not be allowed to screen, and from May 9, it will no longer screen in India due to the political fallout of the recent attack.
The Backlash After The Pahalgam Attack
On April 22, 2025, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, South Kashmir, killed 26 people, most of them civilians. This attack has been declared the deadliest terrorist attack since the 2019 Pulwama attack and immediately ramped up tensions again between India and Pakistan.
The Indian government has imposed restrictions on content relating to Pakistani artists. Many celebrity figures have been sanctioned for promoting Pakistani artists. Fawad Khan, like many others, was banned from posting.
This ban also encompassed the Instagram accounts of other Pakistani stars like Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, and they removed content shared by Indian stars, like Vaani Kapoor, about the film Abir Gulaal.
The Role of Vaani Kapoor and Fawad Khan in Abir Gulaal
Abir Gulaal is a romantic drama produced and directed by Aarti S. Bagdi. Leading into its May release, it was generating a lot of hype, but after the incident in Pahalgam and significant political ramifications followed, the film cannot go to release in India.
Abir Gulaal, which should have been a big release, was set to mark the return of Fawad Khan to Bollywood after several years, alongside Vaani Kapoor.
From sources, Vaani’s team responded to enquiries by saying that Vaani did not delete the posts herself. The film’s production team deleted all the posts on Vaani’s behalf. Vaani’s posts were collaborative Instagram posts, which means that when the post was deleted on the film’s profile, it would also delete the post on Vaani’s profile.
Following the terror attack, several sources within the government indicated that Abir Gulaal could not go ahead and release in India, given the political tensions escalating.
Impact and Disappointment
This is a big disappointment for the film, which had been one of the most anticipated films in 2025.
Abir Gulaal, starring Fawad Khan, was going to examine the subject of romance and drama from a unique angle. With the film now effectively banned, this is just another example of Bollywood dealing with the difficult geopolitics between India and Pakistan, which has impacted the livelihoods of many artists from both countries.
Vaani Kapoor’s Upcoming Projects
While things between now and Abir Gulaal‘s release have gone south, Vaani Kapoor will not be slowed down. The actress was last seen in Raid 2, where she plays Ajay Devgn’s wife. The movie, directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, also stars Saurabh Shukla, Riteish Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor, and Supriya Pathak in lead roles.
Vaani’s next project is expected to be the follow-up to her Raid 2 work with Badtameez Gill, alongside Aparshakti Khurana, Paresh Rawal, and Sheeba Chaddha, unless it gets delayed — the release date has not been announced.
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