Mumbai: Bollywood singer Mika Singh has a question for those who view Pakistanis with suspicion but warmly embrace people from Dubai. In remarks touching on religion, nationality and prejudice, the singer questioned why the same community receives such different treatment depending on which side of a border it lives.
Speaking about his experiences in Pakistan, Mika challenged the idea that the country’s people should automatically be viewed negatively. A statement shared from his interview captures his point: “Pata nahin kyun humein Pakistan ke Musalmaan kharab aur Dubai ke bohat achy lagty hain.”
His question was straightforward: why dislike Pakistani Muslims while having no such reservations about Muslims in Dubai?
The singer also recalled seeing Muslims help maintain and clean gurdwaras in Pakistan. Drawing on those encounters, he spoke warmly about the people he met and rejected the suggestion that Pakistan or its citizens were inherently bad. His account brought the conversation back to ordinary people and their actions, rather than the hostility associated with their nationality.
For Mika, the subject also carries a personal history. In 2019, his performance at a pre-wedding celebration in Karachi triggered a professional boycott by Indian film workers’ organisations, including FWICE and AICWA. The restrictions were subsequently lifted after he apologised. That episode adds weight to his remarks about the divisions surrounding cultural exchanges between the two countries.
His comments also invite scrutiny of anti-Pakistan rhetoric in ruling-party politics and Bollywood’s repeated use of Pakistan as the enemy in its stories. Political disagreements can shape headlines and film plots, but should they also determine how an entire population is treated? Mika’s remarks put that uncomfortable question at the centre of the conversation.
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