For actor Arjun Kapoor, humanity comes first

Photo: IANS

Photo: IANS

Mumbai: Bollywood star Arjun Kapoor who features in “Indias Most Wanted” — an upcoming film based on a real-life event of a terrorist — says terrorism has no religion and as an individual he puts humanity before religious identity.

When the teaser of the film was launched on April 16, it drew ire on social media for showing a faceless terrorist — referred to as India’s Osama — citing the Bhagavad Gita to explain the body and soul connection to justify human killing.

Asked about his reaction on the criticism, Arjun at the film’s trailer launch here on Thursday said, “I am not a Hindu. I am not a Muslim. I am an Indian. We are all Indians who are making this film.

“Therefore, we are putting our country and humanity before anything. This film is about people who don’t think about religion, caste and creed. I do not want to discuss that and give it importance. We would rather want to discuss the work of our intelligence bureau.”

Arjun further said: “It’s easy for people to type things on the computer sitting at home. But do they go and put themselves out there? People use words to rationalise thoughts. People use religion to make others think in a certain way. We are making a film that is pro-Indian.”

The film “India’s Most Wanted”, helmed by Raj Kumar Gupta, revolves around an undercover operation to capture a terrorist without using any gun power. Arjun essays the character of Prabhat Kapoor who leads the operation with a four-member team.

As Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar has been declared a global terrorist by the UN Security Council, Arjun said he hoped justice would be served towards humanity by taking the right action against him.

“It’s good that the UN has agreed that he is a threat to humanity and it is about time that better sense prevails. We all can see how the government has been proactive in trying to get him to be called a threat. Now that he is, I just hope action is taken and justice happens,” the actor said.

Produced by Fox Studios, the film “India’s Most Wanted” also features Rajesh Sharma and Shantilal Mukherjee. It is slated for release on May 24.

 Published on: May 2, 2019 at 19:00 IST

IANS