The British-American filmmaker, fresh from his Oscar victory for historical drama ‘Oppenheimer’, will receive the honour for services to film
His remarks come in the wake of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) directive that Pakistani artists must not work in India.
"We are artists who talk about love and peace. However, the government must make decisions about law and order and who is allowed to work and who isn't," Saif said on the sidelines of the GQ Men of the Awards event on Tuesday night here.
On Tuesday afternoon, MNS workers protested outside filmmaker Karan Johar's office here over Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's presence in the upcoming film "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil". Last week, the party gave Pakistani artists 48 hours to leave India.