LAHORE : After decades of mutual mistrust, the moviemakers and film stars of Pakistan and India are interacting, buoyed by a belief that South Asia's most popular medium can propel the fledgling peace process.
Cross-fertilisation between the Lahore-based film industry now dubbed Lollywood and the Bombay-based Bollywood has begun, replacing the old politics of envy.
And the Pakistanis, who once spurned Indian films for taking over their domestic market, are now lending stars to India. Leading the collaborations, Lollywood's Muammar Rana, 30, was scooped up by Bollywood in March for a supporting role in the film "Do Bara" (Once Again). He was cast alongside Indian megastars Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon and Mahima Choudhury. Working in Bollywood blew Rana away. "My experience of working in India was out of this world," he said on his return after spending weeks in Bombay.
His anxieties about how a Pakistani would be treated in what was just two years ago "nuclear enemy territory" dissolved soon after landing in Bombay.
"I was shaky and fearful to start with. But everybody there turned out to be so nice and wonderful that I felt very confident and comfortable during the shooting of the film," he told AFP. "All of them gave me lots of love and respect and frankly I was overwhelmed by the sentiment. "Indian film industry people are very keen to come over to Pakistan and work here." he said. Now it is the turn of Pakistan's screen goddesses to dip their toes in Bollywood. Top actress Meera has signed deals to act in two Bollywood films, "Allah Malik" (God is Supreme), to be produced by Bombay-based P.D. Mehra, and "Lal Haveli (Red Mansion), to be produced by Bollywood's famous Bhatt family. Pakistan had long been a whipping target of Bollywood directors, who used the unrest in Kashmir as the ultimate dramatic backdrop for their richly-coloured plots. But the trend has changed under the new environment of reconciliation initiated by President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in January. Musharraf appealed to filmmakers in India "to avoid producing movies which promote hatred," during a video conference with Indian intellectuals and journalists in March. Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri issued a similar plea a month earlier. Both countries' film industries signed a memorandum of understanding in March vowing to refrain from making movies hostile each other. "We signed an MOU with Indian producers to avoid making movies which can promote hatred against each other," Pakistan Film Producers Association chairman Amjad Farzand told AFP. "'Let's bury the past and start afresh,' was the commitment."
bombay_times
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i am sorry to say..but believe me the film in which this actor (I hv seen him for the first time) is working is directed by a stupid director...has stupid music as i heard from reliable sources and it will be disaster with all flop stars like mahima and jackie shroff and al nonsense people...
i wonder why ur actor has chosen this movie...one should not blindly sign a movie just because he is getting fame in bollywood...but should consider good roles...no surprise if he would become another mohsin khaan
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bombay_times said:
i am sorry to say..but believe me the film in which this actor (I hv seen him for the first time) is working is directed by a stupid director...has stupid music as i heard from reliable sources and it will be disaster with all flop stars like mahima and jackie shroff and al nonsense people...
i wonder why ur actor has chosen this movie...one should not blindly sign a movie just because he is getting fame in bollywood...but should consider good roles...no surprise if he would become another mohsin khaan
bombay_times
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i wanna say he selected a stupid movie being made by a super stupid director and a cast like jackie and mahima who r flop in bollywood...no one expects this flm to do well....
ur actor should have waited for a while...instead of jumping his guns...
who cares anyways..i ain't gonna waste my money in theatre watching that stupid movie
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i would have to agree with bombay_times.
i agree that maummar should have chosen a bigger role, with bigger names. shaan's a perfect example. while sana, meera, javaid sheikh, and others have jumped on the bollywood bandwaggon, my boy shaan is weighing his options. he's not signing a movie for the sake of being in bollywood. good 4 him! so in that sense, i agree with bombay_times.
HOWEVER, in maummar's defese, he may have signed the movie so quickly, as a sign of respect. he was asked, and he accepted. simple as that.
for me personally, i have no clue who those people are (with the exception of jackie sheroff). but for maummar, he may have signed a minor role with them, 2 get his feet wet - to gain exposure, and then he'll get noticed and sign bigger roles eventually. who knows?!
rickyyyyyy
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my friend nfak khan ......u r still makin ur presence felt here...good ..nobodys representing pakistan here...the actors wanna come to india lookin for prototypical ' greener pastures' that s all there s to it ..mush freer country ...do what u want ....and earn loads of money and fame ...they are all on a personal agenda . by default of bein a pakistani they are representing but that s where the buck stops. this guy has made a huge blunder by signing this movie ..he s a B DIRECTOR and sorry to say he d be done before he can say BOLLYWOOD.
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yeh doono indian jul rahay hein !..these indian never will not be admitted paki talent..it's not new!.. aur kon kon si film choray gay..kay yeh pakistani actor/acress ki hay..hum nahi dekhay gay...stupid!
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jal rahe hai....hahahah u r not even gettin the point sonnyboy....whcih indian wants to work in ur movies or entertainment industry ...none ...all these peace overtures are only to make a cultrul invasion in ur country . aur hai kya tumhare mulk me jalne ke liye except a morose dull unentertaining life.lol
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agur kuch nahi hai..tu koen lay rahay ho pakistani actor/actress ko tumerhara bollywood..kia bollywood ko kio nazar nahi aata...jehal indians..jin ko sawaye hate kay kuch nahi aaata..
Frienship ka dhong rashatay hein..be frienship ...dont speard hate here!
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i dont intend to .....all this is just a phase and its all economics....ur artists are goood and they come dirt cheap ..why shouldnt we take them ....but if u are sayin that any of ur artists that would make it india would not move bag and baggage to india then u r livin a fools paradise. oh they would come crawling on all fours. so we dont mind them comin to india and working here ...we believe in attracting and appreciating artistes and the more they come the merrier.
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rickyyyyyy said:
my friend nfak khan ......u r still makin ur presence felt here...good ..nobodys representing pakistan here...the actors wanna come to india lookin for prototypical ' greener pastures' that s all there s to it ..mush freer country ...do what u want ....and earn loads of money and fame ...they are all on a personal agenda . by default of bein a pakistani they are representing but that s where the buck stops. this guy has made a huge blunder by signing this movie ..he s a B DIRECTOR and sorry to say he d be done before he can say BOLLYWOOD.
ah, if it isn't my old friend ricky. welcome back.
a very asinine comment right off the bat though. lol. 'greener pastures'??? not everyone's adnan sami, rick-meister. maummar was asked by this director to replace sunjay dutt, in a minor role for his movie,(in the spirit of - or under the guise of peace, i guess) and he eventually accepted it. simple as THAT. he went, he acted, and he's back. should he land a more significant role for more cash somewhere down the line, and gain fame in india to boot, its icing on the cake.
but contrary to what you'd like to think, 9/10 pakistani acotrs and actresses are content with where they are currently employed - however pathetic it may be! none of them have crossed the boarder looking for employment, WITHOUT HAVING BEEN ASKED or OFFERED TO DO SO.
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see that s how ur mind functions nfak...noone can replace sanjay dutt in a movie unless he decides himself ..that s how big a star he is ..dont delude urself on that ...he was doin a guest appearance in the movie and opted out citing date hassles cause its a sh*tty production house...he hade date hassles and opted out and this director picked ur guy up...personally i think he s a good lookin guy ...dont know how he acts..he must be good ...nothin against that....and if u think ur actors are content with what they have then thats setting very low standards. ...crossing the border is ofcourse not easy ...its not anyone s cup of tea ...there are hordes waiting on the sidelines in india....mega models...ms indias ....u name it ....a few select ones who do get the big opportunity havent made it except for mohsin khan who lived here till he lost his market and had no option but to leave or adnan who will stay here cause he s truly world class...ur artists are in for such a rude shock when they come here and not be recognized.
MR PERFECT
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lol. ricky my man, u see how YOUR mind works?! seems 2 me, you're the one whose delusional. lol.
first u said maummar was looking for 'greener pastures' and then u admit that he was GIVEN the role (for whatever reason, be it sunjay dutt refused, or the director loved maummar that much)!
you know your sh*t when it comes 2 bollywood, so you're probably right - maummar was given sunjay dutt's scraps. but the bottom line is, he didn't go lookin' 4 it. he was presented with an opportunity, and he jumped on it. simple as that.
as 4 mohsin khan.....I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS, so i wouldn't expect indians 2 know him. LOL. maummar's another breed tho. its like comparing apples to oranges. maummar will make the most of the opportunity -as small as it may be.
bombay_times
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rickyyyyyy said:
ur artists are in for such a rude shock when they come here and not be recognized.
I agree with you ricky in this way. I was reading news on Rediff.com some weeks back and there was a very snobbish man called Shaan. I don't know him nor have i seen him, but he is said to be a pakistani actor ( very poor communication skills he has...speaks gramatically incorrect english) i heard).
He thought he is such a hit in pakistan that he thought everyone around the world and South Asia will recognise him. Before landing to India for Frames 2004, Mr shaan was expecting that as soon as he lands in India, everyone will run towards him and aproach for autographs... let alone asking for autographs...no one recognised that poor fella...
I really feel sad for him...
But he sounded very snobbish and ghammandi and anti-india when i read his interview. No wonder, this kind of people never get success and India's top film makers will never offer him a good role...because...shahrukh khan hain naa....
It is more funny to learn that Pakistani media started a propaganda (I think Shaan did it himself) saying he was offered a role in Shahrukhs Asoka..when Shahrukh was there on the MTV Hot seat, he was asked this question and Shahrukh Khan said he did not even know who Shaan is..
Isn't this funny guys...Shaan apni hi badhai maar raha tha...when the producer Shahrukh himself said he doesn't even know Shaan...
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NFAKFan said:
as 4 mohsin khan.....I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS, so i wouldn't expect indians 2 know him. LOL. maummar's another breed tho. its like comparing apples to oranges. maummar will make the most of the opportunity -as small as it may be.
So true..this is the state of pakistani film industry...most of the people from pakistan whom i chat on yahoo don't even know the names of their film stars...
i am not shocked if Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (LOL--NFAK) does not know his own cricketer and film star.
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NFAKFan said:
lol. ricky my man, u see how YOUR mind works?! seems 2 me, you're the one whose delusional. lol.
first u said maummar was looking for 'greener pastures' and then u admit that he was GIVEN the role (for whatever reason, be it sunjay dutt refused, or the director loved maummar that much)!
you know your sh*t when it comes 2 bollywood, so you're probably right - maummar was given sunjay dutt's scraps. but the bottom line is, he didn't go lookin' 4 it. he was presented with an opportunity, and he jumped on it. simple as that.
as 4 mohsin khan.....I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS, so i wouldn't expect indians 2 know him. LOL. maummar's another breed tho. its like comparing apples to oranges. maummar will make the most of the opportunity -as small as it may be.
well u know nfak u r so ignorant if u dont know who mohsin khan is ....famous paki opener and then he married an indian actress and settled down in bombay to work on a movie career ....fairly successful ..couldnt sustain it though...nice fella...rana guy looks good to me ...cant deny that ..wether he s GOOD ENUFF ..i dunno ..if he is ..then rest assured we ll lap him up and u ll lose him ..i promise u that ...and i dont believe u forget who mohsin khan is ....nfak think u should work on ur memory ...try takin some apples and ....an occasional orange would help too....
saif_ali_khan
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what nonsense...momar rana does not know acting...he is one of the crap that lollywood produced...stupid actor signed a crappy stupid movie...expect it to bomb at the box office
another bitch meera..jo apni badhai marti firti hai will be a big flop...budhi ghodi laal laghaam
only if omar sharif worked in bollywood .our telent will be recognised
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btw i m waiting for the movie of yash chopra to be released in pakistan..it would be great exp to watch bollywood movie in our theatre. unfortunately only rats and chuchundars watch lollywood movies in theatres..
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saif_ali_khan said:
btw i m waiting for the movie of yash chopra to be released in pakistan..it would be great exp to watch bollywood movie in our theatre. unfortunately only rats and chuchundars watch lollywood movies in theatres..
peoples r still interested in watchin our movies when ydakh and commando was released the theaters were full even in karachi so plzz mr saif plzz go and watch some movies in karachi then say any thing abt the cinemaz.
MR PERFECT
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rickyyyyyy said:
well u know nfak u r so ignorant if u dont know who mohsin khan is ....famous paki opener and then he married an indian actress and settled down in bombay to work on a movie career ....fairly successful ..couldnt sustain it though...nice fella...rana guy looks good to me ...cant deny that ..wether he s GOOD ENUFF ..i dunno ..if he is ..then rest assured we ll lap him up and u ll lose him ..i promise u that ...and i dont believe u forget who mohsin khan is ....nfak think u should work on ur memory ...try takin some apples and ....an occasional orange would help too....
nope. no idea who mohsin khan is. and i'm surprised that you and your fellow indians on this site DO know him, after claiming you don't know any pakistani artist. if ya'll know abt a guy who seems like a second rate actor, i guarantee you, you'll know who maummar rana and co. are, in no time.
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Mohsin khan is a actually cricketer not film star..he becomes accidently film star..so shut up indian guys..
Momar rana movie 'Yeh dil aap ka hawa' has a great success in Pakistan,uk and Usa.
and saif ali khan..Have u gone to cinima..if not..there is no right to say about momi...
'Yeh dil aap ka hawa' movie has a great success in pakistan specially karachi..don't u know? how stupidity?
and remember Sonu nigam,Kumar Sanu,Alka has sung for Lollywood...U can't reject these realites...First u listened these song which has composed by our music director.
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mujhey afsoos indian pur nahi itni jitni un pakistani guys/guls per hia jo indian ko favor karney lugtay hein..aur they r not ready for accept pakistani pop,dramas and films... inferior complex..
more important 1st half of movie was very strong
very poor communication skills he has...speaks gramatically incorrect english) i heard).
