Abhinay Deo backs Imran Khan, Kubbra Sait reacts to his Leave India notice

Filmmaker Abhinay Deo has spoken up for Imran Khan. The actor has been told to leave India by October 28 after he was detained at a protest in Mumbai. Deo directed Imran in the 2011 dark comedy Delhi Belly, and he asked people to respect the actor's choices instead of passing comment on them.

"He is an incredible person, a very, very nice human being, and a fantastically passionate and sensitive man," Deo said in an interview. He said he could speak only from his own experience of working with Imran. Going any further, he added, would mean violating the actor's space.

The citizenship question did not interest him. Deo said all he knew was that Imran had studied filmmaking in the US, and that the matter should not concern most of the people now talking about it. "We should let people have their opinions, their decisions," he said.

Actor Kubbra Sait took a sarcastic line in a video she posted on Instagram. She pointed out that the protest was held at August Kranti Maidan, the ground tied to the Quit India Movement. Then she joked that the one person really shaking right now was Shakespeare.

Imran is Aamir Khan's nephew and holds American citizenship. After he was detained, he posted a photo of himself in what looked like a police van, with the caption "Apparently I'm going for a drive." He told the media he was at the site as a Mumbai resident. His legal team has said he will challenge the notice in the Bombay High Court, and a petition could be filed as early as next week.