Cross-Border Love: The Pakistanis we love (sorry, MNS)

Poppy Agha ChefWith her roots in Karachi Khurshid Amina Agha fondly known as chef Poppy Agha has risen as a popular celebrity chef in Pakistan over the last decade courtesy her food show A Taste Of Fusion on Dawn News TV where she whipped up innovative fare that challenged Pakistanisrsquo notion of traditional cuisine In 2012 Agha crossed the border and showcased exemplary cooking skills on Foodistan an IndiaPakistan cookoff TV show where she was pitted against Delhirsquos blueeyed chef Manish Mehrotra in the finals and emerged as the first runnerupJunoon BandIt all started by the smash hit of the 1990s when MTV was fresh and young in the Subcontinent The album Azadi rode on a heady wave and the quartet of Salman Ahmad Ali Azmat Brian OrsquoConnell and Nusrat Hussain became household names from SoBo to Southall Their fusion of Rock music with Qawwals and Sufi sounds resonated across borders and mindsets Years later after the band had parted ways they did a reunion tour that included Mumbai April 2012Fatima Bhutto AuthorIn the years before Sania Mirza became such a national hero and had just tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik there was a mean meme that said something to the effect of Take Sania and give us Fatima Bhutto That lost sentiment aside Benazir Bhuttorsquos niece is a star in her own right with books like Songs Of Blood And Sword which deal with her controversial family She is also pretty easy on the eye and thatrsquos why Indian men will love her to visit the country more Her best asset thatrsquos she not scared to speak the truth about her countryThatrsquos what she saidlsquoPakistan continues to deny justice to the victims of its violence What it loses in return is faithrsquo she recently tweeted on the death anniversary of her father Murtaza Bhutto who died on September 20 1996Marina Khan ActressShe became a household name in India in the mid80s with Tanhaiyaan The Pakistani serial is considered a cult classic and her funloving character Sania who played pranks was a big draw She followed it up with Dhoop Kinare in which she played the young intern Zoya who falls for a much older doctor in the hospital where she worked Video libraries stocked video cassettes of both hugely popular dramas with instructions to viewers to return the cassettes immediately after viewing because there was a waiting listUmer Shareef Standup comicDecades before Kapil Sharma standup comedian Umer Shareef introduced us to TV shows with oddball family characters on stage Umerrsquos name is synonymous with Bakra Qistoon Pay which was a rage during the late rsquo80s He had a nagging wife an eye for PYTs and often broke into a song to get out of a piquant situation He pioneered this genre and inspired standup comics both sides of the borderCitizen Khan TV showThe Pakistanis laughed So did the Indians The TV show Citizen Khan had viewers LOL at the antics of Adil Rayrsquos characterization of Mr Khan as the bumbling selfanointed community leader of East Briminghan Despite receiving threats and negative publicity for stereotyping the migrant South Asian Muslim diaspora in the UK the show continues to earn rave reviews and high telly ratings for its brand of slapstick comedyNazia Hassan SingerNobody we repeat nobody can forget Nazia Hassan singing the sultry Aap Jaisa Koi from 1980rsquos Qurbani The Pop Queen of the eighties and her brother Zoheb took over the imagination of the Indian pop lover She worked with music director Biddu on many projects and had other hits that included Disco Deewane and Boom Boom She is said to have changed the face of the music Indian industry as she was follwed by talents like Alisha Chinai and Lucky AliRumour Has ItThat she refused Biddursquos offer to sing Made in India as it would hurt her countrySomy Ali ActressShe stole the eternal bachelor Salman Khanrsquos heart When they were together there was enough fodder for the gossip mills Somy did some Bollywood duds in the rsquo90s like Yaar Gaddar and Andolan She may have not made her mark as an actress but till date she is known as Salmanrsquos girlfriend At that time she was a teenager and madly in love with the star who helped her find a toehold in Bollywood They were together for almost eight years till they parted ways in 2000Rumour Has ItThat Sallu apparently broke a cola bottle on her head which is now part of folkloreMohammed Hanif AuthorThe Indian Literati loves Hanif for his biting wit and astute observations His books including A Case for Exploding Mangoes left the audience with goosebumps or in a trance Hersquos also known for his criticism of the establishment and never minces his words when telling the truthNusrat Fateh Ali Khan SingerThe late singer considered to have the greatest voice ever made Sufi music a trend His highpitched timbre gave goosebumps and made you go in a trance He went Aafreen Aafreen in 1996 which had Lisa Ray feature in the music video More than her smouldering presence it was his voice that grabbed attention He rendered Sawre Tore Bina in Bandit Queen 1994 Dulhe Ka Sehra in Dhadkan 200 and Is Shane Karam Ka in Kacche Dhaage 1999Zeb and Haniya SingersA big part of Coke Studio Pakistanrsquos success goes to sister singers Zeb and Haniya The two cousins from Kohat combine folk music with blues and alternative music and their Urdu and Pashto lyrics are just the icing on the cake Zeb has also sung for AR Rahman Sooha Saha for Imtiaz Alirsquos HighwayDid You KnowThe sisters released The Happy Song that aimed at talking of the good in PakHuma Nassr Fashion DesignerIn 2015 Huma Nassr high on the demand for the salwar kameez as made popular by Pakistani TV shows got to India ShaanePakistan a fashion show aimed at promoting Pakistani fashion designers She also became the first Pakistani to open her shop Braahtii in the capitalCompiled by Clayton Murzello Shaheen Parkar Fiona Fernandes and Aastha Atray Banan