Vaani Kapoor's Promotional Posts For 'Abir Gulaal' With Fawad Khan Taken Down From Instagram

Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor was set to feature alongside Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in his much-anticipated Bollywood comeback film 'Abir Gulaal'.

However, following the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam in April, the film attracted significant backlash.

Photo Credit: PTI

Government sources informed PTI that the film would not be permitted to release in India. In the wake of the controversy, all promotional content related to the film appeared to vanish from Vaani Kapoor's Instagram profile.

Did Vaani remove all 'Abir Gulaal' posts?

Shortly after the Pahalgam attack, posts relating to 'Abir Gulaal' and Fawad Khan-including posters, teasers, and behind-the-scenes content-disappeared from Vaani's Instagram.

However, according to a report by Times Now, the actress herself did not delete the content. The posts had originally been uploaded as Instagram collaborations, meaning the production team retained control.

When the production team removed the original posts, they were automatically taken down from Vaani's profile as well.

This action coincided with a wider move to restrict access to the Instagram accounts of several Pakistani artists-including Fawad Khan, Hania Aamir, Mahira Khan, and Atif Aslam-within India.

Users attempting to view these profiles from India now see a message reading: "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content."

For context, 'Abir Gulaal', a romantic drama directed by Aarti S. Bagdi and produced by Vivek Agrawal, was originally scheduled for release on 9 May in India. But in light of the Pahalgam terror incident and escalating political tensions between India and Pakistan, officials have stated that the film will not be cleared for release in the country.

On 22 April, a terror attack in South Kashmir's Pahalgam claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly civilians, marking the deadliest such incident in the region since the Pulwama attack in 2019.

Prominent Bollywood figures such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, and Priyanka Chopra publicly condemned the attack. Pakistani celebrities, including Hania Aamir and Mahira Khan, also expressed grief over the tragic loss of life.

Vaani's Upcoming Projects

Most recently, Vaani Kapoor appeared in 'Raid 2', portraying the wife of Ajay Devgn's character. The film, directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, also featured Saurabh Shukla, Riteish Deshmukh, Rajat Kapoor, and Supriya Pathak in key roles.

Vaani is next slated to appear in 'Badtameez Gill', which stars Aparshakti Khurana, Paresh Rawal, Sheeba Chaddha, Richard Bhakti Klein, and Monica Chaudhary. A release date for the project has yet to be confirmed.