Less than a month after Feroz Khan’s stinging comments about Pakistan, its people and its film industry nearly derailed the official opening of channels between the Indian and Pakistani film industries, things seem to be back on track.Next month, five Pakistani romantic films will be released in India, marking the latest breach in a four-decade cinema blockade between the two nations.The films will be launched simultaneously in New Delhi and Mumbai on June 25 in an unparalleled 10-day mini-film festival showcasing the struggling Lollywood, the poorer cross-border cousin of Bollywood.The five films are Sayed Noor’s Daku Rani and Majajaan, Javed Sheikh’s Yeh Dil Aapka Hua, Sajjad Rashid’s Salaaken and Reema Khan’s Koi Tujhsa Nahin.
If the titles are any indication, the movies are unlikely to set Indian screens on fire — one of the key reasons why a confident Bollywood has welcomed the minnows from across the border with open hands — but the local industry feels that the camaraderie will help it reap dividends in Pakistan.
“There are more opportunities for Bollywood in Pakistan than for Lollywood in India. If their films come here, it will mean nothing to us, because they won’t be able to compete with our productions at any level.On the other hand, Bollywood productions, which are vastly more popular in Pakistan, can gobble up their entire industry,” said a top official of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ association.“It is highly lucrative for us. So Bollywood would certainly go the extra mile to have better relations with Lollywood. It is to our advantage.”
Pakistan banned Indian films in 1965 during one of their three wars since independence. Neither were movies by Pakistani film-makers screened in India although a handful of Pakistani actors have appeared in Bollywood productions.
Amid a political thaw, Pakistani authorities allowed the release of two Indian films, Mughal-e-Azam and Taj Mahal, this year. Both bombed at the box office in Pakistan. To add to the woes, Feroz Khan went ahead and made some uncharitable remarks at the premiere of Taj Mahal which led to his being banned from entering Pakistan.Now in an apparent effort to build bridges, India has thrown its doors open for the festival. “This is one further step towards bridging the gap of enmity between the two countries. It is an effort to strengthen the peaceful bond of brotherhood,” Jamshed Zafar, the chairman of the Pakistan Film Producers Association (PFPA), said from Lahore.
The big winners at this years MTV Movie Awards couldn’t have been more different — comedy 'Wedding Crashers' and Oscar-winning drama 'Brokeback Mountain' walked away with five Golden Popcorn statuettes at Saturday's show.
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Alba, who took the award for sexiest performance as an exotic dancer in 'Sin City' thanked "all the perverts who voted for me".
MUMBAI: Indian actress Dia Mirza has shrugged off her nice-girl tag with a sensual dance routine in a new Bollywood comedy, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The dance is part of the former beauty queen’s recent attempts to lose her girl-next-door image.
Mirza told weekly film newspaper Screen that the lively rhythm of the folk song prompted her to agree to do the dance number in Phir Hera Pheri. “I was bowled over when I heard (the song). It is fantastic and I’m sure once it is released, it will rock,” said Mirza. Mirza began her Bollywood career in 2001 a year after winning the Miss Asia Pacific title. She has acted in 16 Indian movies. Her first shot at an image makeover came with her role as a stripper in Tumsa Nahin Dekha.
