Stars return from successful China tour
Staff Report
LAHORE: Chinese people were thrilled with the dance performances of film star Meera, Sheen, Nadia Ali and Sara Jamoot in cultural shows held in Pakistan Emba**y in China and Beijing University.
“We were not paid a single penny for our performances, except for boarding and lodging. We volunteered to go,” said Meera at a press conference on Thursday with producer turned director Shahzad Rafique and Mubasher Luqman on returning from China.
“We were praised highly by Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat for our performance at the Pakistani Emba**y, where he was chief guest. The performance was attended by diplomats from various countries, VVIPs and emba**y staff.”
She quoted Mr Hayat as saying: “We wish to show the soft face of our country to the world and this troupe has done remarkably well. I wish we could send them to more countries so that people may know that Pakistan has a rich cultural heritage and that it has a very strong history in film and music.”
The 10-member delegation went on a five-day tour of China on invitation from the Pakistan Emba**y. Playback singer Anwar Rafi, choreographer Khanoo Samrat, Sohail Sheikh and Farooq Rao were also part of the delegation.
One of their performances was to a packed hall at the famous Beijing University. There other activities included a presentation to the China National Film Bureau. The director general of the bureau expressed ab interest in screening Chinese films in Pakistan and in a co-production. “As a token of their good will, the bureau also agreed to reduce the post-production charges for the films by 60 percent to facilitate Pakistani producers,” Mr Luqman said,
A memorandum of understanding was discussed between the group and the members of the bureau. The heads of the two parties agreed that a draft memorandum would be submitted by the Pakistan Emba**y in China in a week and Mr Luqman and Wong Chi of the bureau would later sign it. The draft includes agreements on co-productions between China and Pakistan with sub-titles or dubbing, exchange of artists, technicians and technology to be more frequent, and import of technology at low cost.
Asked which senior Pakistani film professionals were represented in the delegation, Ms Meera said, “We all are senior persons.”
When it was pointed out that Mr Luqman had neither produced or directed a film and Ms Sheen had never acted, she paused for a while and then replied that Mr Rafique was a senior person with films to his credit. “We participated in the official screening of Pakistani film Rukhsati, written and directed by Shahzad Rafique. The film received tremendous accolades and I and Mr Rafique were given certificates of merit by the China National Film Bureau”. The Pakistani delegation will participate in the Asian Cultural Festival in China in September.
MEERA IS LOOOKING
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
