Know Pakistan: We are not Veer-Zaara
 We know so much about India thanks to their cinema and television, but they know little about Pakistan. They are prone to thinking of us as a country running rife with the Taliban thanks to the turbaned ones taking over the global imagination. Or they think we live in a time warp. Let's look at the Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara that is Bollywood's ultimate ode to Pakistan. Yash Chopra meant well, but he imagined contemporary Pakistan to be something straight out of the Muslim social films of yore. Pakistani girls from the aristocracy do not wear chikan shalwar kameezes complete with jhumkas , neither do they say 'adab abba huzoor' to their sherwani clad father. When Parition happened and two independent states were created, it's not as if all of Lucknow migrated to Pakistan. Bollywood has yet to wake up to this.
Fashion exchange
India and Pakistan have a long history of sharing clothes. Even at the height of animosity and tension, Indian saris were being brought into the country, while our cottons and
chikans were going there. Now, designers like Tarun Tahiliani and Ritu Kumar are stocking at outlets in Pakistan while Faiza Samee and Sana Safinaz are selling well in India. Pakistani designers are a regular part of Bridal Asia, while Indian designers showing alongside their Pakistani counterparts have always made for a great fashion spectacle at the Carnival De Couture held here. We'd like to see more of the same exchange which would boost fashion business in both countries and be great for the economy too.
Bollywood actually learns to rock!
 Rock On was a massive hit across the border and won many an award. However, in Pakistan the die-hard followers of the rock scene were full of derision for the film. The ethos of rock was missing from it because it was so Bollywood. There was no angst in the title song: Dil karta hai TV tower pe main chadh jaoon/Chilla chilla ke main ye sabse kehdoon/Rock On!" wrote Javed Akhtar. He won awards in India but wasn't really appreciated in Pakistan where rock has become a tradition since Junoon. 'Hai jazba junoon tou himmat na haar/ Justujoo jo karay who chhoay aasmaan' is a rock anthem and that attitude is now epitomized in Noori "Dhoonda hai sitaron ko, zamanay ko bhi dekhain gay/Aa ke tumharee hum zindagee se khelain gay/Likhi hai apnee zindagi ki daastan/Mitay ga naheen phir nishaan".
You have to be a rocker to write rock songs that are essentially the antithesis of quintessential Bollywood bubble gum happiness.
Pakistan wake up to copyrights and monitoring bodies
India has a flourishing music, television, film, and performing arts scene and have also made great strides in publishing. Recently, the Indian Cabinet proposed to amend the Copyright Act of 1957, which would make it possible for artists to get a share of royalties from their work when it is broadcast. This is possible because of bodies like the Indian Performing Rights Society that function independently to safeguard the interest of the musicians. For all the uproar about copyrights and unfair record deals in Pakistan, artists have not yet managed to come onto one platform to flex their muscle joinly. Hopefully, as ties with India improve, they'll learn how to do it.
Pakistani dramas should cross the border again
Indians have always loved are dramas. Pakistani classic like Tanhaiyaan and Dhoop Kinaray had a huge following across the border and are still remembered. And right now, Pakistani drama is witnessing a revival with indigenous, truly homegrown plays like Meri Zaat Zarra e Benishaan which is all the rage right now and last year's Jhumka Jaan which was a huge hit. Pakistani entertainment channels have finally come out of the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi copycat syndrome and are commissioning and producing dramas that capture a real slice of Pakistani life again. While Indian television dramas have a huge viewership in Pakistan, our dramas can proudly cross the border once more. |
