Many media reports suggested, before the release of MS Dhoni’s biopic, that Fawad Khan will have a cameo role in the movie and he will play Virat Kohli. But due to the increasing tension at the Indo-Pak border, Fawad’s role was chopped off in the last minute.
According to a report on BollywoodLife, a source close to the film revealed that Fawad was indeed a part of the film and had even shot for his role with the director Neeraj Pandey and Sushant. He further added that Dhoni’s equation with Virat Kohli was an integral part of the biopic until a week before the film’s release. Fawad’s role was supposed to be a surprise for the viewers.
This happened because of the mass campaign on social media to ban the Pakistani artists. Many right-wing groups also threatened the boycott of movies that will have Pakistani artists in it.
A source who worked on the film further told the portal, “Neeraj Pandey didn’t want any negative publicity or controversy around the film. Though Fawad Khan’s character was an integral part of the film, but it wasn’t as important as that of MS Dhoni’s. So he thought it’s better to do away with the Fawad’s portions in the film than face the ire of this controversy. Neeraj didn’t want the focus of the film to shift from MS Dhoni and Sushant Singh Rajput to Fawad Khan, Virat Kohli and Pakistan” adding that Fawad wasn’t even aware that his part has been omitted from the movie.
