On May 22, 2025, during a promotional tour in the United States for her upcoming film Love Guru, Mahira Khan addressed the renewed cultural standoff between Pakistan and India, in which Pakistani artists are again being banned in India amid heightened political tensions. She acknowledged the emotional pull of national loyalty but urged her industry and audience to “focus inwards” and invest in local talent rather than engage in reciprocal bans or “cancel culture.”
Drawing on her own experience—when her Bollywood debut Raees (2017) was overshadowed by the first India-Pakistan cultural fallout and she was barred from attending its promotional events—Khan emphasised that restricting artists does little to strengthen domestic industries. “Instead of taking such a strong stance…for us, I think it’s important that we invest in ourselves. Let’s start investing in us,” she stated, framing self-reliance as the path forward.
Khan rejected the notion of cultural boycotts as effective political tools, calling them “asking for too much” and insisting that artists deserve the same promotional opportunities across borders. Her remarks reflect a broader sentiment among Pakistan’s creative community: that nurturing homegrown talent through sustainable investment will yield more lasting benefits than temporary gestures of isolation.