Salman Khan’s tryst with Pakistan

Star hopes to pave the way for local actors to perform in Bollywood without being judged

Bollywood actors seem to share an intrinsic connection with this side of the border. Where Shah Rukh Khan’s familial roots tracing back to Peshawar has often been written and spoken about, Kareena Kapoor Khan recently made headlines by expressing her desire to work with our very own filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor. And now, Salman Khan, who’s currently basking in the success of his film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, can no longer hide his love for his neighbouring country.

He recently reminisced about how his tryst with Pakistani cinema began right at the start of his career, reported the Deccan Chronicle. “Years ago, I had done a film called Sanam Bewafa, which was a remake of the Pakistani film Haque Meher. People still remember that film because of the story,” he said.

Acknowledging that Pakistan is home to a massive Salman Khan fan-base, he said he’d never want to do anything that’d offend his fans on this side of the border. “I have a huge fan-following in Pakistan and I wouldn’t want to hurt them by disrespecting their sentiments. I want to go to Pakistan and work out a strategy that allows their actors to [perform] in our country without being judged.”

Over the years, Bollywood has often been under the gun for making films connoting an anti-Pakistan agenda. “I can’t comment on other actors’ films based on Pakistan. The two [Pakistan-centric] films that I’ve done, Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, have shown Pakistan and India in the right light,” said Salman.

In other news, Salman and Kabir Khan, the director of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, lauded Pakistani news anchor Chand Nawab, whose failed attempt to record a news package had recently gone viral. They’ve depicted a similar scene in the film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and said they hoped to interact with the reporter.

“Ever since I saw it, I fell off my seat laughing and thought I had to do this in a film. The scene with Nawaz is an exact replica of Chand Nawab’s viral video,” said Kabir. “He [Chand] is now a big hero back home. I’m thrilled about that. From the video, I thought of him as very endearing and cute, and he is,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th,  2015.

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