{"id":250023,"date":"2026-01-24T19:57:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/250023\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T19:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T19:57:13","slug":"jaideep-ahlawats-on-screen-wife-ekavali-khanna-on-ikkis-it-is-definitely-not-a-pro-pakistani-film-at-any-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/250023\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaideep Ahlawat’s on-screen wife Ekavali Khanna on ‘Ikkis’: ‘It is definitely not a pro-Pakistani film at any level’ |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JaideepActress Ekavali Khanna passionately stood up for her movie ‘Ikkis’, which faced accusations of endorsing Pakistan that she labeled as ‘nonsensical’. She emphasized that the film’s narrative revolves around universal themes of compassion, loss, and the repercussions of warfare, intentionally avoiding party politics. Ekavali Khanna has responded to the pushback around \u2018Ikkis\u2019, saying the charge that it praises Pakistan is a bit absurd and arguing that the film speaks to humanity, not politics. Khanna, who plays Maryam, said the outrage ignores what the story is really about: grief, honesty, and the damage war leaves behind. After the film drew strong reactions in January 2026, she said she fully supports its intent and emotional focus.<\/p>\n

Ikkis controversy and Ekavali Khanna response<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Khanna opened up about the online criticism that accused \u2018Ikkis\u2019 of portraying Pakistan in a positive light. \u201cIt\u2019s a very personal thing. So, I don\u2019t think that I hold that place to criticize people who are uncomfortable with it. But I can speak for myself,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Ikkis Rejects Chest-Thumping Patriotism, Asks Who Really Wins After Medals And Martyrdom<\/p>\n

She explained that the film takes a clear stance against war. \u201cIt is an anti-war film. These days, we are so lost in this whole jargon of animosity, enemy camp etc. This particular film reflects a lot beyond it,\u201d Khanna said. She added that the story works on multiple emotional levels. \u201cIt is a moving story of a father and son. Also, it is a moving story even from the perspective of the Pakistani counterpart.\u201dKhanna pushed back strongly against the label attached to the film. \u201cThis is a pro-humanity film. It is definitely not a pro-Pakistani film at any level,\u201d she said. Referring to the sacrifice of Arun Khetarpal, she asked, \u201cThen how, on earth, can it be called a pro-Pakistani film?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ikkis vs Dhurandhar debate and actor\u2019s choice<\/p>\n

The criticism grew louder after the release of \u2018Dhurandhar\u2019, which arrived weeks before \u2018Ikkis\u2019 and drew praise for its hard stance. Khanna said comparisons between the two films were unfair. She recalled a conversation at an airport in which someone asked which film she would choose to work on.\u201cI replied that I have already worked in \u2018Ikkis\u2019,\u201d she said, while acknowledging the success of \u2018Dhurandhar\u2019 and its director Aditya Dhar. \u201cHe tells convincing stories one after another. As an actor, of course, I\u2019d love to work with him.\u201dStill, her creative choice was clear. \u201cBut creatively and in terms of sensitivity, I\u2019ll always choose \u2018Ikkis\u2019 over \u2018Dhurandhar\u2019,\u201d she said. Khanna added that such questions often aim for headlines. For her, the focus remains on what the film achieves. \u201cWhat makes me happy is that thanks to this film, more people are going to know the story of Arun Khetarpal.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actress Ekavali Khanna passionately stood up for her movie ‘Ikkis’, which faced accusations of endorsing Pakistan that she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[145354,145352,145353,145349,156,145355,145350,145351,409,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-250023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-anti-war-films","9":"tag-arun-khetarpal-story","10":"tag-dhurandhar-vs-ikkis","11":"tag-ekavali-khanna-ikkis","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-humanity-in-cinema","14":"tag-ikkis-film-controversy","15":"tag-jaideep-ahlawat-on-screen-wife","16":"tag-movies","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}