Twitter reacts: Mahira Khan’s debut in Raees has hearts racing

Mahira Khan's Bollywood debut, Raees, has been making headlines since it was announced. While she was featured prominently in the songs and the trailer of the movie, there was a lot of speculation about whether she would do justice as Shah Rukh Khan's leading lady.

With the movie's release on Janary 25, the Indian media seemed to be divided over her debut performance. While some seem to love the Humsafar actor, referring to her as a breath of fresh air and the future 'Queen of Bollywood', others have not welcomed her with open arms.

However, fans on both sides of the border gave their stamp of approval to Mahira for aptly portraying her character, Aasiya, in Raees.

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A Mumbai-based journalist, Faridoon Shehryar lauded Mahira's performance in Raees, tweeting:

Some tweets by fans:

Her famous Battery dialogue was hugely popular:

Mahira and Shah Rukh's sizzling chemistry was definitely matchless. Shedding light on this, a fan tweeted:

Many Pakistani celebrities also even came out to congratulate Mahira for her stellar performance in the film.

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Hina Khwaja was all praises for Mahira's role. She tweeted:

"From Khirad to Falaq to Aasiya - you have shone & will continue to sparkle! @TheMahiraKhan I know you will make Pakistan proud"

Mawra Hocane also took to Twitter to wish the 'Raeeszadi' all her love. She tweeted:

Hareem Farooqi, too, sent her love to Mahira:

 

Osman Khalid Butt gave the cutest shout out:

Ali Zafar wished Mahira the best:

Indian celebrities such as Sunny Leone and Mika Singh also hailed Mahira's performance.

Mika Singh tweeted:

Sunny and Mahira's Twitter exchange is the sweetest! Sunny showed Mahira her gratitude soon after the movie was released:

Mahira's performance did not go unnoticed by many Indian critics as well.

Bollywood Hungama loved the Mahira-Shah Rukh action drama, and tweeted:

A review by News 18, praised Mahira's performance and her chemistry with Shah Rukh:

While some reviews admired Mahira as Raees' leading lady, others were not as welcoming. Calling her performance insignificant and negligible, some reviews went on to say she was just a prop in the film.

Leading Indian media portals such as Hindustan Times, Bollywood Life, Pinkvilla, Times of India, and Indian Express also reported the lack of spark between Mahira and Shah Rukh, adding that she is just easy on the eyes.

It is important to note, however, that Mahira's debut comes at a time when deteriorating relations between Pakistan and India, and hypernationalism have spilled into the entertainment industry. Last year, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a right-wing Hindu political party, stated that they wouldn’t let Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan release their upcoming films unless all the scenes featuring Fawad and Mahira are chopped off. Further, the party had threatened all Pakistani artistes working in India to leave and return to their home country within 48 hours. Johar, as a result, released an apology, while the makers of Raees are said to have met MNS in regards to the movie.

In response, cinemas in Pakistan announced an unofficial ban on Indian movies.

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