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19 March 2024

Actor playing Hafiz Saeed in 'Phantom' goes underground

In this April 3, 2012, file photo, Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawwa and founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba talks with the Associated Press in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP)

Published
By Bollywood Correspondent

Bollywood movie 'Phantom', starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, has been banned in Pakistan reportedly by the Lahore high court after a petition was filed by wanted terrorist and Jamatud Dawa (JUD) Chief Hafiz Saeed.

Now the actor who portrays Hafiz Saeed, Shahnawaz Pradhan, is being kept underground for security reasons.

A spokeperson from the film unit explained that the security of the actors is extremely important and now that Pradhan's indentity has been disclosed they are taking precautionary measures.

Kabir Khan's 'Phantom,' is based on the novel 'Mumbai Avengers' by S Hussain Zaidi.

In 'Phantom' Indian spies target those behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a three-day rampage that saw gunmen attack two luxury hotels, a centre and a busy train station in India's financial capital.

But unlike the novel, which used pseudonyms for those accused of plotting the attack, 'Phantom' apparently names Hafiz Mohammed Saeed (Pakistani militant leader with a $10 million bounty), as well as American David Coleman Headley, who was sentenced to 35 years in a US prison for his role in planning the siege.

In several interviews given to the press during the promotion of the movie, Kabir Khan has reiterated that 'Phantom' is anti-terrorism, not anti-Pakistan.