STANDARD
Age: 124
Total Posts: 2890
Points: 0
Location:
Pakistan, Pakistan
They are glamorous, no doubt. But they have no airs, no illusions, no grandiose plans of reaching stardom and then heading for Hollywood. Just a plain acceptance of the fact that their job is to act. We are talking of the filmstars of Pakistan. Wearing trousers and tank tops is the only concession Veena Malik — who debuted with Yeh Dil Aapka Hua and is currently one of Pakistan's hottest stars — gets as a result
of her stardom.
"My movie, Yeh Dil ... was a mega hit. It did well even in the US. That is why I am the chosen one. I have been invited to India to act in the first Indo-Pak co-production, a Punjabi movie titled Pind Di Kudi ," says Veena with pride. Bollywood, if it happens for her, is a dream come true. "Because the big-budget films here are mindboggling. In Pakistan, there is a dearth of new equipment, techniques and ideas. Most of the movies in Pakistan have a total budget of Rs 1 crore," explains Veena.
Soon, we are joined by Kamran Goraya, a journalist who works for Khabrein, Sheen (model and TV artiste), Reeja (an upcoming actress), Waris Baig (actor) and Shaukat Ali (leading folk singer) along with Saira Naim (the equivalent of Asha Bhosle in Pakistan). What follows is conversation that throws up some interesting facts about Lollywood...
• A typical modern Pakistani film? "Something like Ladki Punjaban directed by Saeed Noor," they chorus. Why? It is a family drama, no sex, no sleaze. Girl meets boy, falls in love and fights to stay in love.
• Popular movie themes? Family drama of the Karan Johar variety. A little bit of action, a lot of emotion peppered with comedy. Kyunki , "Nothing else will be tolerated. We are a religious country," says Reeja.
• Any sexy scenes? "Kya baat kar rahein hain aap! (what are you saying!) Sex is a big no-no. So are steamy bedroom scenes," says Sheen. "We believe in love, not sex," says Kamaal. "We express love with our eyes and body language," says Veena. So intimacy means..."We can hold hands and hug each other 'decorously'.".
• Jism and Murder possible ever?
" Bilkul nahin ! Never ever!" they exclaim, in unison. Needless to say, they have all seen these films, because "any movie released in India is shown on Pakistan cable channels within the next two days. But nobody dares to take such films to the censor board," says Shaukat Ali.
• How 'bold' can they dress? "Well, we can show the midriff and an occasional belly button," says Veena firmly. No short skirts, no off-shoulders, no cleavage here.
• Lollywood's dream ? "To work in Bollywood with Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan," says Farookh Rao, who owns a studio in Lahore, "Bollywood movies have such style, such finesse... we have a lot to learn."
• Current scenario ? No films are being made. Actors are not signing films because they're waiting to see what the governments of the two countries do in terms of simultaneous releases and co-productions. "Musharraf is a liberal fellow.He loves music and even sings very well. Guess he'll do something," laughs Veena.
• One thing you won't find in a Lollywood movie? "India-bashing. While you guys do it a lot, we can never get past the censor board if we utter one word against India in our films. We have a law that bans it."
