MUMBAI – Despite growing tension between India and Pakistan, an award-winning filmmaker of India says he wants to sign Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in a film that would talk about reuniting the warring countries through art and cultural ties.
Shyam Benegal, the pioneer of a new genre called the “middle cinema” in India, is contemplating casting Fawad for his next film, the Times of India reported.
The film is titled ‘Ye Raste Hain Pyaar Ke’ and will be directed by Harsh Narayan, who has played a pivotal role in strengthening Pakistan-India ties over the last 15 years. The movie will bring a story of two musicians from across the border and their journey of self discovery.
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The Khoobsurat actor is already in talks to play a lead role of a musician for the past three months; however a final confirmation is awaited. “At the moment, he is skeptical about reactions to him working in an Indo-Pak co-production. He has shown a keen interest and will respond as soon as the present situation cools down. We are hoping he agrees to play the lead musician in the film,” Harsh told Mumbai Mirror.
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“Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote the famous poem, Black-Out, while the 1965 Indo-Pak war was underway. His Subh-e-Azadi: Dawn of Independence faced protests. From 1947 till his death in 1984, Faiz composed poems in which he spoke lovingly about his land and its long-suffering people, their hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. I’m trying to capture that feeling through my film,” he asserted.
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Harsh will be joined by the Pakistani writer-artist Salima Hashmi, daughter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
The news comes at a time when Bollywood seems divided against casting Pakistani actors in Indian films. Several of Pakistani artistes, including Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, who were working on different film projects in India were threatened and forced to leave the country in the wake of Uri attacks in Occupied Kashmir.
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Famous celebs like Om Puri, Salman Khan, Karan Johar and Mahesh Butt showed their support for Pakistani actors. Other including Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan, Saif Ali Khan, and many others strongly reacted and criticized Pakistan and its artists while going with the flow of nationalism.
Also, Central Board of Film Certification chief Pahlaj Nihalani stated that he was totally against Pakistani actors working in Bollywood films.
In these circumstances, this wish of Benegal, who leads CBFC Revamp Committee, to work with Fawad Khan might receive strong criticism from the movie industry in India.
We can only hope it turns out to be in favor of love and only the peace prevails all over the world.
