Indian talent continues to be approached for Pakistani TV, films

Kareena Kapoor is the face of designer Faraz Manan lawn in PakistanNawazuddin Siddiquis recent appearance on Pakistan television in a series of commercials by a home appliances brand has proved to be a mixed bag for the Bollywood actor The thinking audience hasnt taken kindly to the ads punchline which amounts to doing dhulai an Urdu slang for beating up of your wife in case she acts smart with you Social media has gone hysterical with its trolls denouncing it as sexist and one that reinforces male chauvinistic attitudes But fans of Siddiqui are delighted to see him share screen space with Pakistani actress Ayesha KhanGulzar has penned the lyrics for an upcoming Pakistani film Mehrunnisa V Lub You The filmrsquos first teaser which was launched last month has him giving the voiceover tooSiddiqui has emerged as the unlikely star of the show Unlikely because he isnt one of those matinee idols the producersdirectors would traditionally want to cast for brand endorsements especially on this side of the border A Ranveer Singh flashing a broad grin and his eversoagile moves for a toothpaste or shampoo commercial or an Arjun Kapoor doing that ohsofilmi tilt of the head that you have come to associate with Dev Anand or Rajesh Khanna when promoting a mobile phone would have greater star value any day But this isnt about the appeal of mainstream Bollywood as much as it is about Pakistan caring so much for it Or how do you explain the biggest brands in the country today opting for the likes of Alia Bhatt Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor Khan to promote their wares even as fire is routinely exchanged at the Line of Control as well as on various media frontsAyesha Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqi in a television commercialKatrina Kaif Priyanka Chopra Shraddha Kapoor Yami Gautam and Esha Gupta have endorsed one Pakistani brand or the other be it green tea an android or a fairness creamInterestingly although the selfimposed ban on Pakistani artistes by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association IMPPA has stayed till date Indian talent continues to be approached for different Pak TV and film projects Celebrated songwriter and filmmaker Gulzar recently penned the lyrics for an upcoming Pakistani film Mehrunnisa V Lub U The films first teaser which came out last month has the veteran giving the voiceover too TSeries is releasing the films soundtrack which features singer Sukhwinder SinghNaseeruddin Shah on the set of Zinda BhaagActordirector Jawed Sheikh is shooting Wajood with a 19yearold Tollywood actress Aditi Singh in Turkey Sheikh is a supporter of crossborder cultural collaborations He has also featured in Bollywood films like Om Shanti Om 2007 Namastey London 2007 and Tamasha 2015 Indian telly actress Reyhna Malhotra who was seen in Ishqbaaz features in Jackpot a film by Shoaib Khan and Khurram Riaz She recently finished shooting in Thailand with Pakistani costars Inayat Khan Noor Hassan and Sanam ChaudhryShahzad Gul with Saroj Khan shooting for Ghar Kab Aao GePerhaps the most exciting will be to see Sanjay Dutt in Girish Maliks Torbaaz It will be former Pakistani skipper Rameez Rajas maiden venture as he has provided creative inputs to the action flickDifferent locationSince it is often difficult for artistes in India and Pakistan to move between the two countries especially for work a neutral venue is considered best for the shoot This is usually Dubai or Bangkok Nawazuddins TVC was also shot in Dubai in December last year This was the time when India and Pakistan were still reeling from the aftermath of the Uri attack The shoot took place over a single day reveals Armughan Hassan codirector But we managed because we had an amazing team especially SiddiquiSara Khan shot for a TV serial Leikin in Pakistan earlier this yearThere are a fortunate few who make it through the diplomatic red tape Bigg Boss 4 contestant Sara Khan was in Karachi in January this year where she shot for a drama serial Leikin This was her second time in town Earlier she had come over to record actorproducer Humayun Saeeds play Bey KhudiFor his latest titled Shor Sharaba famed Lollywood producer Sohail Khan got Mumbaibased film director Hasnain Hyderabadwala Ya Rabb 2014 to come to Lahore in April 2016 Khan says It took seven months getting clearance letters for Hasnain because he required a work permit Once he was here we made sure that wed complete the entire shoot the talkie portions and songs in a single 50day spellAhsan Khan Mustafa Qureshi and Achint Kaur in SultanatA year on as the film is ready to hit theatres in Pakistan Hyderabadwala has already set a precedent by being the first Indian movie director ever to work across the borderHyderabadwalas association with Khan goes back to the days of The Killer 2006 the Irrfan KhanEmranHashmistarrer which was one rare IndoPak joint production Later they came together for Jashn 2009 Both these were smallbudget films and although they didnt cut it at the box office Sohail Khan wasnt deterred He says hed trust the vision of a Bollywoodtrained director such as Hasnain better than local talent Most people whore making films in Pakistan these days are not qualified to be in the field he declaresDirector Hasnain Hyderabadwala left and Mustafa Qureshi on the set of Shor SharabaProducer Khurram Riaz of Jackpot subscribes to the same belief So he hired the services of Anubhav Bhansal a wellknown DoP in Bollywood to cinematograph his film Riaz also got the equipment from India over to ThailandBhansal is required for another shooting spell which willl take place in Lahore Riaz is hopeful there wont be any problem in getting him the visa despite the tense situation at the border There are only a few circlesgroups that are against unity or peace between India and Pakistan he says Otherwise the artistes and technicians are always ready to support each other and they are open to the idea of crosspollinationNeha Dhupia and Moammar Rana in Kabhi Pyar Na KarnaItem numberOver a decade ago director Javed Raza signed Neha Dhupia for an item number in Kabhi Pyar Na Karna The song was shot in Film City Mumbai with leading man Moammar Rana Another Pakistani film Main Ik Din Laut Ke Aoonga has the distinction of being shot entirely in a studio in Hyderabad India with a mix of artistes from both the countries Virsa 2007 a coproduction starring Arya Babbar and Pak TV actress Mehreen Raheal was also shot in India and so was Hum Tum Aur Mom which featured Mehrunissa Hassan Krishna Abhishek Sharmaand the late Reema Lagoo Perhaps the biggest casting coup so far has happened in Dubaibased Pakistani hotelier Aslam Bhattis two mega productions Godfather The Legend Continues 2007 and Sultanat 2014 that brought together Vinod Khanna Arbaaz Khan Jimmy Shergil Shweta Tiwari Achint Kaur and Nafisa Ali from India and Meera Mikaal Zulfiqar Ahsan Khan from PakistanSuraj Bhi Tamashai 1980 was one of Pakistanrsquos earliest forays in joint productions with India It starred Dhoop Kinarayfamed Rahat Kazmi opposite Indian actress Rehana Sultana while Suresh Oberoi played the villain The film was shot in Dubai The government of Pakistan under General Ziarsquos military rule didnrsquot allow the film a theatrical release in Pakistan Eventually it was released on VHS onlyNandita Das played the lead in Ramchand PakistaniHigh tagsOutsourcing talent is an expensive proposition As Sohail Khan puts it The price tags that the Indian stars come with are far too high for most Pakistani film producers who are working with small budgets Pakistani rupees 26 crore on an average Since I have good relations with Hasnain he agreed to a discountNot every film producer in Pakistan would enjoy this luxury But the trick is either pay them their asking price or tempt them with an outstanding scriptrole Which is precisely what worked in the case of Naseeruddin Shah who stepped into the role of an enlightened maulana in director Shoaib Mansoors pathbreaking film Khuda Ke Liye 2007 Later he appeared in another Pak project Zinda Bhaag 2013 which was a Punjabi language film directed by MeenuFarjad Last year Shah reunited with MeenuFarjad for a short film funnily titled Jeewan Haathi The film was made under the banner of Zeal for Unity an initiative taken by Shailja Kejriwal Chief Creative Officer Special Projects at ZeeRajeev Khandelwal and Aamna Sharif in Sun Ley Na2016 also saw celebrated Indian actor the late Om Puri debuting in Pakistani cinema with Actor In Law a social comedy that turned out to be the years biggest moneyspinner Puri made history by participating in the films promotional tours across the different cities of PakistanOn television Juhi Parmar of KumKum fame was roped in for a Humayun Saeed production Tere Ishq Mein in 2006 Later Saeed picked up Aamna Sharif and Rajeev Khandelwal Kahiin Toh Hoga for a Pakistani serial Sun Ley Na Nandita Das featured in MehreenJabbars awardwinning film of 2007 Ramchand Pakistani Veteran producer Shezad Gul hired the services of renowned choreographer Saroj Khan for his 1999 blockbuster Ghar Kab Aao GeHumayun Saeed and Pooja Kenwal in Main Ik Din Laut Ke AaongaKhan was called over to Manila where the shooting of songs was wrapped up in four days flat The same year choreographer Ahmed Khan travelled to Lahore for Samina Peerzadas directorial debut Inteha For Jawani Phir Nai Ani 2015 Pakistans highest grossing film to date producer Humayun Saeed who also played the protagonist got Bollywood choreographer Reshma Khan to direct a dance number Fair and lovely ka jalwaSaba Qamar Ahmed Khan and Atif Aslam during the shoot of Hoor Hoor for the film Hindi Medium in GeorgiaIn the absence of a stateoftheart studio facility Pakistani filmmakers have to look towards India or Bangkok The postproduction work of Yasir Nawazs Mehrunnisa V Lub Us was completed in Mumbai Khurram Riaz also intends to do his next films mixing in India Clearly the process hasnt stopped even if the subcontinents political climate may still not be too favourable for cultural collaborations