Bollywood director Karan Johar has finally broken his silence on the recent controversy surrounding his upcoming movie "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil." Johar's directorial romance drama is facing ire of a Marathi nationalist body due to presence of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in it. Mumbai based Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has opposed the release of the "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" after the Uri terror attack. The already turbulent relations between India and Pakistan strained further after the attack. An Indian film producers body has recently placed a ban on Pakistani actors working in India.

The 44 year old Indian filmmaker said in a video message that country comes first for him and rest everything after that. "I need to say this... and I say this with strength that for me, my country comes first, nothing else matters to me but my country," he said, The Telegraph reported. I've always felt that the best way to express your patriotism is to spread love and that's all I've ever tried to do through my work and my cinema."

He also made it clear that he won't work with Pakistani artists again. "I would like to say that I would not engage with the talent from the neighboring country given the circumstance," Johar said, Economic Times reported. He also appealed to MSN to allow release of his film. "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil," starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai and Anushka Sharma, is slated to release on October 28. It will also clash with Ajay Devgn's action adventure movie "Shivaay" at box office. Check out Johar's video message here.