About 25-30 BVS activists led by Atul Sarpotdar wanted to stage a demonstration outside the actor's Pali Hill bungalow but were stopped at Khar Danda and later allowed to take a delegation to meet Dilip Kumar. Sarpotdar said the memorandum mentions the initiative taken by Kapil Dev in calling off the Indo-Pak cricket series in Toronto and requests Dilip Kumar to similarly respect Indian sentiments.

Dilip Kumar later told Express Newsline: ``Whenever Bal Thackeray has no issues he turns to Dilip Kumar. Does he know why the Nishan-E-Pakistan is given? It has some purpose of fostering links and restoring friendship between India and Pakistan. The award was for my contribution in fostering friendship, and I have received it with the consent of the PM and theIndian government, just like Morarji Desai and L K Advani.''

He questioned the need to ``throw away the award just because some mindless people have acted in haste.''