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The Bridges of Bollywood
Banning Indian content in Pakistan will only serve to kill
the bonds created between two countries that share a common love
for arts, literature and entertainment.
By Aamna Haider Isani
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Indian
films have been playing in Pakistani cinemas for a little less than
a year but Bollywood has always played a significant role in our lives
for as long as we can remember. We have grown up feeling the fury
of Angry Amitabh in films like Deewar and laughing to his incredible
comic timing in those like Namak Halal. We have jived on giant matkas
with Jumping Jeetu and have been in a very committed relationship
with Shah Rukh Khan ever since he uttered the words "K…k…k…Kiran"
in Darr. We have been as obsessed with Bollywood as Rahul was with
Kiran, minus the psycho factor of course.
'Jay jay shiv shankar' has been a mehndi staple ever since Mehnaz
wore that striking orange sari and twisted to it; we have all played
'Mausam masatana' on our car stereos during the monsoon downpour.
The love affair we've had with Bollywood has matured over the years
but it is a relationship that has affected the way we sing, dance,
love, make friends and enjoy life in general. It has enriched our
happiness and soothed us in moments of sorrow. No matter what we go
through in life, there has always been a film or a character drawn
in parallel, such is the proximity we have had with Bollywood.
That intimacy found a new level with the KaraFilm Festival and the
arrival of screen idols such as Ajay Devgan to Pakistan and it came
closer still with the release of Indian films in Pakistani cinemas
last year. Then there were events such as the Carnival de Couture,
a high society event that played host to the likes of Arjun Rampal,
Shilpa Shetty, Urmila Matondkar and more. With an acute scarcity of
sufficient local content to keep us entertained, we welcomed the Indian
imports with open arms, as if welcoming a lost lover back home. And
why not?
Not only do we share a culture with India, we speak the same language,
laugh at the same jokes and cry at the same tragedy. A westerner may
never understand why Rajesh Khanna compared his heart to a blank sheet
of paper as he sang "Kora kaghaz tha yeh man mera" but every
single person in Pakistan could. |
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Now why
should anyone have to give up that kind of rapport?
The answer lies in the great India-Pakistan divide, which has
risen as the 'zamane ke zaalim deewar' in our love affair with
Bollywood. Films are welcomed here when things are peaceful
at the borders but the slightest hint of hostility not only
distances the countries but cinema too. In India, producers
have avenged their nation's pride by making films that have
taken a negative tone: the post Kargil productions are a good
example. In Pakistan, any sort of cross border tension results
in a clamp on Indian imports: films and TV soaps, though most
of the times any 'action' is restricted to anti India rhetoric
only. |
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The
United States dropped the nuclear bomb on Japan during World War II
- that being an act of mass destruction - which resulted in the loss
of life as well as the mutation of several generations to follow.
One can still see the after effects in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hollywood
was never banned in Japan and if anything, one saw a great influence
of American culture on the Japanese youth. One even witnessed a group
of eighteen year olds dancing to American rap in front of the Hiroshima
Memorial Museum.
No matter what the issues are, art and literature should never be
put up against a wall because art and literature (inclusive of film
and music) can only open minds and free mind sets; it can only help
evolution and cannot possibly serve any detrimental side effects.
How can we, as a nation, imagine any forward movement (mental as well
as literal) if we think of isolating ourselves within a hole and cutting
off bridges with India or any part of the world that threatens us? |
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That doesn't
mean putting up patriotic Indian films that push an anti Pakistan
agenda (for they are targeting the Indians alone) but other
than them, Bollywood is harmless at large. What possible damage
could a Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi or Ghajini do, except provide some
much needed entertainment to the people of Pakistan?
In fact, one would like to openly challenge all those people
talking of a ban on Bollywood to actually take Indian films
(past and present) out of their lives. That means no more Kishore
Kumar or Mohammad Rafi in the car; no more Singh is Kinng or
Dostana soundtracks on the iPod. Pakistani TV shows without
Indian content. Television without the DVD channels, Indian
soaps as well as Star and Sony. Concerts without covers of Bollywood
songs. No more Indian award shows or literature.Take it all
out and I'm afraid you're left with a pretty bland entertainment
scene. |
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