May 10, 2025 06:32 PM IST
After Pakistani actor Mawra Hocane’s remarks on Operation Sindoor, her Sanam Teri Kasam co-star and Indian actor Harshvardhan Rane has opted out from the sequel
When the Indian Armed Forces responded to the heinous Pahalgam terror attack with Operation Sindoor, many Pakistani actors such as Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Hania Aamir criticised the mission and condemned it online. Their social media handles are blocked in India, but many NRIs shared screenshots of these posts on Twitter and Reddit. Pretty soon, the Pakistani artists were brutally trolled for their remarks. Amongst these actors was Pakistan’s Mawra Hocane, who made her Bollywood debut with Sanam Teri Kasam in 2016 opposite Indian actor Harshvardhan Rane. Today, Harshvardhan announced that he will not be a part of the film’s much-talked about sequel if Mawra is cast in it.
Amid tensions between India and Pakistan, Harshvardhan Rane took to his Instagram story to share, “While i am grateful for the experience however as things stand, and after reading the direct comments made about my country, i have made a decision to respectfully decline to be a part of Sanam Teri Kasam part 2 if there is any possibility of the previous cast being repeated. Harshvardhan Rane, 10-5-25.” This was followed by a screenshot of a report featuring Mawra Hocane’s post about Operation Sindoor, which read: “Strongly condemn India’s cowardly attack on Pakistan… Innocent civilians have lost their lives. May Allah protect us all… may sense prevail. Ya Allah ho Ya Hafizo #PakistanZindabad.”
Along with this screenshot, Harshvardhan shared, “I respect all artists and humans of this country, that country, kenya and even Mars, but this kind of derogatory remarks about my country by anyone is unpardonable. Am okay with losing out on followers on instagram, but wont allow anyone to walk over the pride and upbringing. Standing by your country is good, but disrespectful, hateful remarks about other country is not.”
Mawra’s character Saraswati aka Saru had died at the end of Sanam Teri Kasam. Recently when buzz about Sanam Teri Kasam 2 surfaced online, there were rumours about Shraddha Kapoor replacing Mawra as the female lead. However, there has been no official update about the star cast yet.
