London: The political relation between India and Pakistan blows hot and cold, but, everything becomes cordial when it comes to cinema. The two countries have been divided by border and united by their craze for movies. There is an intrinsic love-hate relationship between the two nations, but, when it comes to the entertainment business, romance blossoms.
Starting with Zeba Bakhtiar, the first Pakistani actress to be cast in Randhir Kapoor’s 'Henna' to Mahira Khan, who will soon be seen in Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'Raees', the buzz about Pakistani beauties have always remained strong. Lollywood, the name earned for Pakistani film industry based in Lahore has been drawing inspiration from Bollywood in several ways.
Cross border actors, films, musicians and models make waves in India just as Indian filmmaker eye Pakistani market to reap more profits. Despite the protest by political parties, Pakistani talent dream of walking into the Mumbai film industry. Tension at the border remains a pertinent point, for the political parties like Shiv Sena and Maharashtra NavNirman Sena (MNS) protest the screening of the Pakistani movies or the thought of granting work visa for the actors. Similarly, several Indian hits such as 'Haider', 'Ek Tha Tiger', 'Baby' and many more faced trouble from Pakistan Censorship owing to its reference with terrorism or ISI.
Ban imposed by MNS over the release of Mahira Khan-Humayun Saeed starrer film 'Bin Roye' is the recent case in point. The distributors B4U had taken a huge risk of releasing the film in a few unoccupied screens left over by Salman Khan’s 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', but, the MNS protest ensured a no show. In 2009, stand up comedian Shakeel Siddiqui was driven out of Mohan Studio in Andheri by Shiv Sena protestors, who disrupted the shooting of a comedy show and had warned the artists against coming to India.
The protests, however, has not been able to stop the regular inflow of cross border actors. Singer-actor Ali Zafar made a debut with the satirical comedy 'Tere Bin Laden', while Fawad Khan became an overnight sensation heart-throb with 'Khoobsurat'. Keeping in mind, Indian audiences’ fascination for Pakistani dramas, Zee networks launched 'Zindagi' - a channel dedicated to shows from Pakistan.
Looking at the protest over 'Bin Roye' in India, the Pakistani distributers were in two minds on releasing Salman Khan’s 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', but, going by the audience demand they had to give in. The film has been running house full in several theatres, giving competition to 'Bin Roye' and 'Wrong No.', a comedy film that released on Eid weekend.
Pakistan for long has been a big market for Indian movies and its inflow has given the distributers a reason to rejoice. Ramesh Sippy’s iconic 'Sholay', was released 40 years in April this year. As many as 16 Indian films were released in Pakistan, last year, of which Aamir Khan starrer 'Dhoom 3' emerged as the biggest hit. This year, 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' may follow the suit. Pakistani reporter Chand Nawab has been made memorable by Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a quirky reporter in 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'.
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