A cineplex in Karachi is showing 3 Idiots. It’s running houseful and you have to book tickets days in advance. Bollywood followers in Pakistan don’t miss an Aamir Khan film, especially if it’s directed by Raj Kumar Hirani, better known as “the guy who made Munnabhai films.” They also love the man who played Munnabhai — Sanjay Dutt, fondly called “Nargis ka beta”.
Most people in Pakistan love Indian films. No one can deny how Bollywood has brought our cinema halls back to life. Not long ago, they were being shut down to be converted into plazas. But now, their interiors have been revamped, floors polished and doors opened as people have been flocking to watch Wake up Sid, Main Aur Mrs Khanna and Luck By Chance. Even the ‘gay’ comedy Dostana had the women in hijab in splits.
What a blessing it is to have Indian films in our cinemas. We are also grateful to the pirates for bringing Bollywood to our homes (copyrights and legitimacy are good but access trumps over everything else). For blockbusters such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, the DVD sellers would delete a couple of scenes from the movie, so you watched the edited version and bought the disc again when the full version was released. People here could never miss out on the legendary Shah Rukh-Kajol chemistry, at any cost.
For a long time, Indian films were banned here right after the 1965 war, but Pakistan’s love affair with Bollywood continued, thanks to the VCR. We know all the songs that Rajesh Khanna sang with Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz. We saw the rise of Amitabh Bachchan with Dewaar, Coolie and Kabhi Kabhi. We were so fond of all those family dramas Sridevi did with Jaya Prada and Jeetendra. And who can forget the magic created by Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.
Though they never went away, we are all all very happy that Indian films have finally come back to our cinemas. This became possible with the first Karafilm Festival in Pakistan’s financial capital when Jagmohan Mundra and Nandita Das came here with their critically-acclaimed movie Bawandar. That was a turning point. After decades, an Indian film was finally shown in a public space. In 2003, Mahesh Bhatt came with his film Zakhm. The stream of Bollywood films has been regular ever since.
Bollywood has also become a platform for Pakistani musicians – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Strings — who have all made a mark across the border. I am sure that Bollywood would not find such a committed audience anywhere.
(The writer is a reporter with The News)
Times of India
(Submitted by Pritam Rohila)