Pakistanis may see Indian ‘Sohni Mahiwal’

DAILY TIMES
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Pakistanis may see Indian ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ on big screen

* Federal Film Censor Board passes film despite a recent govt statement ruling out screening of Indian films in Pakistan until settlement of all political issues with India

By Shoaib Ahmed

LAHORE: The Federal Film Censor Board has passed an Indian film for screening in Pakistan in a long awaited decision, federal Culture Ministry sources told Daily Times on Saturday.

Censor Board Chairman Ziauddin Khattak, however, said that ‘Legend of Love’, a joint production between India and USSR, was yet to be passed by the censor board. He said a decision about the screening of the film in Pakistan would be made in the next two days. “A major part of the film has been produced by India,” the chairman said, adding that there were 60 percent chances of the approval.

The film was presented to the Federal Film Censor Board three years ago and the case had since been pending.

‘Legend of Love’, also known as Sohni Mahiwal, featuring Indian artists Sunny Deol and Poonam Dhillon, was produced in 1984. It was written by Shanti Prakash Bakhshi and directed by Latif Faiziye and Umesh Mehra. Other prominent actors featured in the film are Pran, Tanuja, Gulshan Grover, Zeenat Aman and Shammi Kapoor.

The federal Culture Ministry had said last year that screening of Indian films would not be allowed until all unsettled issues with India are solved. Former federal additional culture secretary Zafar Ahmed said in 2004 that Pakistani cinemas were likely to be allowed to screen Indian films. He said a summary would be sent to the cabinet in this regard, with comments from four ministries, adding that the Culture Ministry had given a favourable comment. Censor Board Chairman Ziauddin had said last year that the Indian film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ might be screened in Pakistan.

In a recent statement, State Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani said, “There is no question of screening Indian films in Pakistan until all political issues with India are settled, including the fundamental issue of Kashmir.” The Film Exhibitors Association of Pakistan has however been demanding permission to exhibit Indian films to save the industry, which was deteriorating because of various reasons including shortage of new actors and cable television.

Cinema Owners’ Association and Film Producers’ Association delegations met government officials in Islamabad last year with a proposal to exchange five Pakistan films with five Indian films. The delegations said they would pay 150 percent of the entertainment tax if the government banned Indian movies on cable television and allowed five Indian films to be screened in Pakistani cinemas. They said that the government could earn Rs 300 to 500 million annually from Punjab alone. The delegation submitted a summary of the proposal to Prime Minister’s secretariat.