Karan Johar in double trouble - Will ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ undergo changes?

Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar seems to have landed in trouble not only because his directorial venture – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil – features Pakistani actor Fawad Khan but also because the leading ladies - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma - in the film, essay characters based in Pakistan.

A report in DNA suggests that the creative team was pondering over incorporating a technology that could replace Fawad with Saif Ali Khan in the film. But now that the film is just about a fortnight away from its release, this idea may not be put into use.

Saif is believed to have been the first choice to play the character essayed by Fawad in the film but KJo subsequently decided to rope in the actor from across the border. Saif was also considered to play Ash’s husband on screen but was replaced by Shah Rukh Khan.

However, the makers may reportedly tweak the storyline to avoid making references to Saba Taliyar Khan (played by Aishwarya) and Alizeh (essayed by Anushka) as Pakistani residents in the film.

“Karan’s film releases on Diwali, but because of the anti-Pakistani wave that is sweeping through India right now, he is facing a dual dilemma — it is too late to replace Fawad, but his female leads play Pakistani women. So what he is planning to do is tweak the script a bit and work it in such a way that they are no longer Pakistani citizens, but belong to another country,” DNA quoted a source as saying.

Indian filmmakers who have hired Pakistani actors have been facing flak from various sections of the society following the Uri terror attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers. Bollywood stands divided in this issue because some form the fraternity believe that cultural ties with Pakistan must be temporarily cut off until bilateral tensions die down.