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Many of us have grown up watching pirated videos and CDs of famous Pakistani comedian Umer sharif’s stage shows and TV dramas Bakra kishton mein…. Budhha Ghar Pe hai etcetera….
This phenomenon has an interesting history….As we all know the Indian sub-continent shares a common culture, and, presents uniformity in the middle of diversity. One of the most important constituents of culture is films, music and songs. India and Pakistan share a similar musical history and style, which is why each has appreciated the singers from the other.
It all started with singers like Malika Pukhraj, Noor Jehan, Zubeida Khanum, Farida Khanum who started their successful careers in undivided India, and then ….. Ghulam Ali, Reshma, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Javed Sheikh, Mohsin Khan, Sajid Hasan, Salma Agha, Abida Parveen, Reshma, Nazia Hassan , Zohaib Hasan, Hasan Jahangir, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Ali Azmat , Zeba Baktiar, Adnan Sami Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shehzad Roy, Somy Ali, Meera, Imran Abbas, Nargis Fakhri, Ali Zafar, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Laila Khan, Atif Aslam, Veena Malik, Mustafa Zahid , Mona Lizza, Adeel Chaudhry …and now Fawwad Khan
In 1982, the light-eyed Salma Agha bagged a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback for the ghazal Dil Ke Armaan Aansuon Mein Beh Gaye in her debut Bollywood blockbuster Nikaah. A singer as well as an actress, Agha, who was born in Karachi and spent time in London before making her Bollywood debut, acted in and sang for Indian films throughout the 1980s and 1990s and can be considered the original Pakistani import to Bollywood. Another actress to make some waves was Zeba Bakhtiar, who debuted in Randhir Kapoor’s Henna in 1991 opposite the Bollywood superstar of that time, Rishi Kapoor. But Bakhtiar turned out to be a one-hit wonder. Agha’s phenomenal success has not been replicated – not even by her daughter, Sasha Agha, who debuted last year with the commercially unsuccessful Aurangzeb (starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Arjun Kapoor), and gave it another go with Desi Kattey,.
The action-drama, featuring Suniel Shetty, also received a lukewarm reception. Then Anita Ayoob, another light-eyed beauty, desperately tried to make her mark, but was swiftly written off without much ado. With barely a memorable role in 1993’s Pyar Ka Tarana, Ayoob resorted to controversial photo shoots and interviews to keep her name in the news. Somy Ali, who debuted the same year with Anth, met with the same lack of success. Surprisingly, it was not a doe-eyed beauty who ushered back into Bollywood the demand for Pakistani talent, but a young man with amazing comedic timing, Ali Zafar. He has a legion of Indian fans thanks to his boyish good looks and talent, bagged a Filmfare nomination for Best Male Debut in 2010 with Tere Bin Laden and went on to work on a number of successful Bollywood films including Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011), Chashme Baddoor (2013) and Total Siyapaa (2014). But Zafar was soon upstaged by a fellow Pakistani – and the current Bollywood heart-throb – Fawad Khan, an actor and singer who debuted alongside Sonam Kapoor in the recently released Khoobsurat.
Both Pakistan and India got independence from Britian in 1947, after which the local film industry in Pakistan also flourished producing many notable artists, musicians, singers. Indians films have always been popular and followed in Pakistan, but in past 67 years very few Pakistani actors have worked in Indian films. As compared to actors Pakistani singers/musicians have been more successful in India. Till 1980’s Pakistani Urdu and regional cinema of Punjabi and Pushto was booming. But in 1980’s Urdu cinema gradually faded while regional cinema continued its progress. From 1977 – 1988 Pakistan was ruled by General Ziaul Haq, during his reign Pakistan enjoyed very warm relations with neighboring India.
Though Ziaul Haq put many restrictions on Urdu films but he has close friendships with many Pakistani and indian actors. Many Indian artists like Shatrughan Sinha and Dilip Kumar visited Pakistan during his reign, where they warmly welcomed at President House. General Ziaul Haq also encouraged leading Pakistani actors to work in Indian films, a move he thought to bring two countries even more closer. There were also many regular bilateral cricket series played during Zia’s era. So then in 1980’s any such incident where a Pakistani actor has worked in an Indian film was a normal thing and none of the actors was ever questioned for loyalty or patriotism. Instead it was termed as good will gesture while the artists were termed as goodwill ambassadors.
Fridaybrands.com thinks that if India and Pakistan collaborate, it can be a very lucrative business as the cost of making a film in Pakistan is very low, it’s full of untapped stories and scripts and would be an amazing opportunity for any international filmmaker. Bollywood and Lollywood need to grow together. We have so much to learn together and really, it is the responsibility of the artistic, intellectual individuals from both sides to make it work…
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