An immigration officer made a bizarre comparison between me and Mahira: Sara Khan

The 'Baykhudi' star shares how she was treated in Pakistan

Since India-Pakistan relations went sour recently, not many artists have attempted to cross over for collaborations. The situation hasn’t improved enough but fortunately, TV actor Sara Khan took a bold step and crossed the border to shoot her latest Pakistani drama, Laiken.

The Baykhudi star has always been very vocal about how well she was treated in Pakistan, and it wasn't any different this time when she exclusively shared her experience on working here to Pinkvilla.

Giving her two cents about how Indian and Pakistani industry varies, Sara said, "Working culture is different. A few though yet major differences are there. Over there they don't believe in creating sets at all. Every location is a real location. The makeup is also very natural. It doesn't feel as if it is some shoot happening but like a real life thing, it's so natural.After working in Pakistan I realised that realism is very important. The real incidents that they focus on are executed well in their shows."



Sara further talked about how people here perceived Indian cinema. "I have met so any people out there who love India for its beauty and culture. They love Bollywood. In their cinema halls, most of our Bollywood movies run while on their TV sets, our shows are always playing," she said.

She was also asked if she faced any problems during her star in Pakistan, to which she responded, "I never faced any tension or stress at work. You know, my producers out there were very considerate considering I was the only Indian out there. I got more respect because I was an Indian."

She went on to say that an immigration officer in Pakistan said to her "When Mahira Khan was not let go off easily in India and was deported from the Indian airport at Delhi, so why should we let you go off so easily."

Reflecting on this incident, she shared, "That was the only incident that happened at the immigration counter, else nowhere did I face any kind of comparison or was held against the happening with Mahira in India. In fact, outside, they all took every care of me. You know, I have been going to Pakistan for 6-7 months. This is my second show out there. The way we were unaware about a lot of things and relied on news channels, similarly, over there, people weren't aware of the scenario faced by Mahira and Fawad in detail. They too relied on news channels. I used to travel after 15 days to both the countries and see that things were pretty normal here and there as well."



So, what attracted her to take up a Pakistani show?

"Actually, I really wanted to see how Pakistan is. From childhood, we have heard about the country but never got a chance to see it or experience their culture. After going there, I realised that their culture is also beautiful. Their content on television is super strong and excellent," she said.

Talking about artists getting banned in both countries to Telly Chakkar, Sara commented, “I am an Indian and I am a Muslim. I think that the main problem between the two countries is the religion. Both the nations have their complications with each other owing to that. There were no such obligations on me about working there. Even the Pakistani actors are not banned forever; definitely all will be fine, since everybody knows how much love the Indians have showered on Fawad Khan and other artists from Pakistan.”



“Entertainment is beyond these tensions and issues, and I have never faced any complications in Pakistan. In fact, I received a warm welcome there, and the local people have high regards for Indians. When they got to know that I am from India, they said that they want to come to visit our country but unfortunately the political condition doesn't support it. It’s just the politics and the media that hype things to another level. People out there have grown up watching Bollywood movies and Indian soaps,” she added.

Earlier in an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, she said, “The reason I decided to come to Pakistan was because of the strong content in Pakistani television.”

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