Veteran star, Meera, recently spoke at a press conference where she called out the hypocrisy in the Pakistani film industry. Talking to the reporters, Meera lamented how her 2010 film, Devdas, a remake of the popular Bollywood film which was based on a 1917 Bengali novella, never saw the light of the day.
"It's a sorry state of the Pakistani film industry," Meera told the reporters. "My film, Devdas, was made. There are many films being made in Karachi which are not even worth watching. But they are getting distributors, they are being screened in cinemas too. The producer of my film had fallen ill. He spent all his life earnings on this film and he couldn't even get a cinema to get his film screened?"
She went on to comment on how many called Devdas a B-class production. "They said Devdas is a B-grade production. What A-class productions are being produced in this country, anyway? Punjabi is a beautiful and respectful language," the Baaji star remarked.
"And when we raise our voice against this injustice, you [the media] portray it as if we want to create a controversy. That we want to be in the news. Why couldn't my film, Sohni Mahiwal, get screened in cinemas? I don't want to be in the news. Can't we talk about the injustice we face?" Meera shared as her voice breaks down.
It all started when Karachi-based producer Nadeem Shah wooed Iqbal Kashmiri into agreeing to the project. The deal was simple. Let me play Devdas. I will inject money and make this film happen. While Kashmiri seems to have been tricked into the project, Shah plausibly changed his mind once the shooting was complete. He not only refused to pay up the dues but even attempted to get the tapes stolen from Evernew and release the film in Karachi only.
Kashmiri had handpicked Zara Sheikh and Meera to essay the roles of Paro and Chandermukhi. Shot entirely in Lahore, the film had long been the subject of discussion within the city’s film circles. Sympathising with Kashmiri, over the years many fellow directors tried tooth and nail to cut a deal with Evernew and let the film see the light of day but to no avail.
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