Even as director Kabir Khan is riding on the success of his last release Bajrangi Bhaijaan, his next film starring Saif Ali Khan titled Phantom has already run into controversies.

Phantom, which is a political thriller, based on a popular espionage novel, has a petition filed against it by notorious terrorist and one of the prime suspects behind 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Saeed, who has alleged that the film intends to “poison the minds of the Pakistani people”.

Convening a press conference to clear the air, Kabir along with Saif stated in no uncertain terms that even though 'Phantom' has a political premise, there is nothing objectionable in the film that would call for a ban.

Kabir Khan said, "The only reason we are here speaking about this issue is because there has been a lot of public and media attention to the whole issue. I don’t think there are any justifiable grounds to ban the film. Besides, as of now there is no ‘ban’. The film hasn’t been shown to the censors in Pakistan and they haven’t taken a call yet.”

"We know what the reality is. Is this a secret? Why can't we say this in open? Aren't there people who are dead for Indians but residing in Pakistan. You all know that right? If a wanted terrorist can go to the court of law in any country, I feel it's ridiculous. This is a sign of a really great nation that they entertain complaint by a terrorist," Saif said.

Saif said people should see the film before passing any judgement. "Nobody is against Pakistan or their religion, but this is a different subject and Kabir has treated it in a nice way. I feel that the people should see the film before passing judgement," he said.

Saif said they are not interested in slamming Pakistan. "A lot of us who have families dating back to pre-Independence and pre-Partition would have families in Pakistan, especially Muslims. My family would also not like to do any film that bashes any community... nobody is interested in bashing Pakistan," he said.

Saif had foreseen some roadblocks. “I had thought that the film might be banned in Pakistan. So there is not much surprise in what has happened. It is a realistic film based on facts but the premise is fictitious. So this was anticipated. However, these are the type of films we should be making,” he said.

Meanwhile Kabir is happy with the response to "Bajrangi Bhaijaan". "I am really happy with the love and respect that the film is getting. I did not offer 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' to Aamir Khan ever," he clarified.

"The film 'Phantom' is half-fiction and half-fact. I am very proud of the film. This is a very honest film and take on the subject. We are not sensationalising terrorism in the film," he said.