Yash Chopra had a soft corner for Pakistan: Iram Parveen Bilal
Saying she had a “long love history with Mumbai”, director Iram Parveen Bilal believes late Bollywood veteran director Yash Chopra, who had a soft corner for Pakistan, was such a source of inspiration for her that even after graduating in engineering, she took the plunge into film-making.
The young director, who has made her first film after four years of arduous work, grew up watching Chopra’s evergreen romances Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni and the like.
“I have always been a big nerd and I was selected to go to the Asian Olympiad of Physics. But my parents and I always loved Bollywood films. I was brought up in Nigeria and Pakistan and I grew up watching films like Silsila, Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni,” Bilal told IANS in an interview during her India visit.
Bilal spent four years working on her debut film Josh, which was the only fiction-category film from Pakistan to be screened at the just concluded 14th Mumbai Film Festival. She was happy to be in Mumbai with her debut film, but was heartbroken that she won’t get to meet her idol Yash Chopra again, who died October 21.
Talking about her association with the veteran film-maker, she said: “I have a long love history with Mumbai. I came here for the first time in 2004. Every time I came [to India], I met Yashji. No matter how busy he was, he would take out five to 10 minutes for me. He used to give me his pearls of wisdom. But the fact that he is no more and I won’t be able to meet him is heartbreaking,” she said. “Chopra was born in Lahore, so he always had a soft corner for Pakistan.”
“I was [in Mumbai] when Veer-Zaara released and it was an acquaintance who introduced me to him. He welcomed me with open arms. He was a humble man who wanted to inspire people, I took advice from him and he always mimicked in Raj Kapoor’s style, ‘The show must go on’.”
“I don’t know anyone in his family, but I will go and pay my respects,” Bilal added.
Her movie Josh is the story of a privileged woman Fatima, played by supermodel and leading actor Aamina Sheikh, who is in search of a dangerous truth in her nanny Nusrat’s feudal village.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2012.
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This might be Iram opinion.But his films never portray his soft corner for Pakistan.Veer Zara is one of the example He always has soft corner for Punjab.He wants united Punjab and expressed his feeling in a press conference in Germany and quote that German can understand partition of a country and I have same feelings on division of Punjab.
@jameel. I think you just attended professor's lecture. Professor hafez saeed!!
he was enemy of pakistan. didn't you see his movies are mostly against pakistan. his last movie "jab tak hai dam" is also against pakistan which proves that he fired his last bullet against pakistan.
He was born Jalandhar Punjab Not Lahore Punjab
@Iram Parveen Bilal
Wish you all the best. May your film be appreciated!