Shilpa Shetty kisses Pakistani flag!

Shilpa Shetty kisses Pakistani flag!

Asian News International

Pakistan's hoi polloi are often dazzled by the presence of Bollywood stars.

The visit by Akshay Kumar and Shilpa Shetty was no different in terms of charm and charisma, until Shilpa went ahead and did the unprecedented - she kissed the Pakistani flag, taking her audience by surprise.
Shetty attired in a snug tomato-red outfit, ended her first dance on Thursday by dramatically swaying the Indian and Pakistani flags together and kissing the latter.

Recalling the "impromptu" movement onstage on Thursday night during her performance, Shilpa was quoted by Online News and the Daily Times as saying that it was simply an innocent gesture symbolising the current state of peace and friendship between India and Pakistan.

"It was not planned nor choreographed. I'm looking forward to a time when we will be able to come together without fearing consequences," she was quoted as saying.

Bubbling with excitement, she further went on to say that, "I'm so very happy. Visiting Pakistan was something I've always wanted to do. I had heard so much about the Pakistanis. And really, this experience has been beyond my wildest expectations."

"The people here are very warm-hearted, and the women very, very beautiful," she added.

Shetty also rejected the suggestion that the Indian film industry is churning out propaganda movies. It was in fact, coming out with stories keeping the viewers' entertainment in mind.

"Bollywood has never produced any movie to intentionally hurt Pakistanis. If unintentionally, we have hurt your sentiments, on behalf of the Indian film fraternity, I apologize to everyone today. Never has it been our intention, not in the past nor in future," she said.

"We are working to bring people together, and I will say it again, all movies should be watched for their entertainment value," she concluded.

No anti-Pak movies for me, says Akshay Kumar

Bollywood film star Akshay Kumar has said that he is not interested in doing propaganda movies that show either India or Pakistan in poor light.

Meeting reporters at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club here, a relaxed Kumar, 37, managed to bowl Pakistanis over with his charming and dexterous responses at a Friday tete-a-tete.

He cracked jokes, laughed and kept switching from English to Urdu to Punjabi, and had the media eating out of his hand in no time.

He said that this first visit to Pakistan "was like a dream come true".

"We have been showered with nothing but love and respect from the moment we stepped on Pakistani soil. Hopefully, this visit will improve things and assure people back home," he was quoted by the Daily Times and Online News, as saying.

Kumar said he had deliberately decided to limit his work to three to four flicks a year, because family commitments take up a lot of his time. He is married to former Bollywood star Twinkle Khanna and has a son.

He also felt that it was premature to say anything about co-productions. "I cannot say anything about my own projects. I jinx myself by speaking too soon!"

Having spent over 24 hours in Pakistan, Kumar said that being here was no different from being in India. "We have similar cultures, but can't seem to find common ground to bring them together."

"I've been listening to Naseebo Lal for over two weeks now, and am extremely fond of watching Pakistani plays," he said.

Kumar and actress Shilpa Shetty both felt the trip was too short. Both promised to return. "Give us love. We ask for nothing more," Shetty said.

Also present at the press conference were Indian TV actor Sajid Khan, the brother of the famous Indian choreographer, Farah Khan, and Pakistani star Reema, who turned up to endorse the peace process and thank her counterparts for coming to Lahore.