IANS

Organisers of the ongoing Sixth Kara Film Festival Tuesday denied suggestions that Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was denied visa by the Pakistan government.

Khan was not coming because of the clash with his shooting schedule, a spokesman of the festival was quoted as saying, rejecting the "notion" that the visa had been denied to him.

Khan, along with many of the artists of "Omkara", were expected to be present at next Saturday's screening of the film that is based on Shakespeare's "Othello."

Media reports here did not mention why Khan's non-arrival had been attributed to denial of visa, a frequent occurrence in India and Pakistan when non-official visits are exchanged.

This would have been Saif's second visit to Pakistan, the first one being a charitable event last year for which he had accompanied Malaika Arora and Sushmita Sen.

The arrival of Ajay Devgun and other star cast would be known only 48 hours before the special screening, the organizers said.

Vishal Bhardwaj, the director of Omkara, is expected to make an appearance along with the stars.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who is the festival's ambassador and a regular, his brother Mukesh and some other Bollywood film personalities have attended the festival that has had many Indian films screened this year.