This is what Farhan Akhtar says on the IFFI and ‘Padmavati’ controversy!

Last few days have not been good for the Indian film fraternity. With non-stop controversies around Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavati’ to the removal of regional films like ‘Nude’ and ‘S Durga’ from the IFFI movie list, the fraternity has seen it all. Farhan Akhtar, on the sidelines of a book launch event, addressed these issues and stressed upon the lack of unity in the film fraternity. The 43-year-old actor said, "Everyone gets scared when it's their film on the line. It is a small industry. There are not that many people. If they don't come together to create an environment where they themselves can function in, the way they want to, nobody else is going to do it for them".

Farhan further said, “This is not just about those two films or just about 'Padmavati'. This has happened in the past with many films. I am totally against anything being banned. I genuinely believe we should stop treating our audiences as children. We should allow them to grow.”

Making his point clear, Farhan said, “In cinema, there's no such law that if a film is made you have to go and see it! You have the freedom to boycott the film. You can tell people to boycott the film. But you don't have the freedom to threaten somebody with grievous bodily harm or break somebody's theatre or cause damage in any way.”