Emraan Hashmi and Humaima Malik

Suddenly, it looks like Bollywood is the place, where the now-on, now-off India-Pakistan relations is digging its heels in. Bollywood’s star power is luring some Pakistani stars, after a line of Pak singers, who had made an impact on Indian soil.

Actually, over the years Indian film industry has seen many aspiring actors cross the borders, seeking to strike gold in Bollywood.

We remember the talented Pakistani singer-actor Ali Zafar, who began his acting career with the Bollywood film “Tere Bin Laden” which did fairly at the box office, and went on to star in YRF’s “Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.” Another cross-border actress Sara Loren made her B-town debut with Pooja Bhatt’s romantic thriller “Kajraare” and then went on to play a pivotal role in “Murder 3.”

And the latest to jump into the bandwagon, are — Pakistani starlet, Humaima Malik, who is ready with her big Bollywood release “Raja Natwarlal” paired against the hot Emraan Hashmi. Incidentally, she was in the news for dating the famous Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram, and believe it or not, the buzz is that they are madly in love, although the actress never admitted to being in a relationship.

After Humaima, Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas — are also all set to make their big-bang debuts in Bollywood in next few weeks.

It looks like this Pakistani superstar — Fawad Khan, is on the brink of sweeping the Indian audience of their feet, in “Khoobsurat” (which is the remake version of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Khoobsurat”), where he is paired opposite Sonam Kapoor. He has become a heartthrob to young teenage girls, courtesy his good looks. But recently, he did face flak from his country for “hurting the sentiments by working in a Hindi film.” But his answer was: “The people you are talking about are very few. There will be people who will criticize… they are entitled to their opinion. I do feel bad but I choose to ignore the criticism. I believe art knows no culture and creed.I think to pay attention to it is unnecessary.”

This dashing actor had starred in revered Pakistani film “Khuda Ke Liye.” What’s more, a Pakistani daily confirms that Fawad Khan will form an impeccable jodi with Kareena Kapoor in a film soon! The film, to be produced by Yash Raj Studios, is said to be an intense drama and will start in late 2014.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt’s sci-fi flick “Creature 3D” will mark the Bollywood debut of Imran Abbas — one of Pakistan’s popular small-screen stars. The thriller also stars Bipasha Basu in the female lead. The actor in question had indeed had his share of bad luck – he could not bag the plum role in “Aashiqui 2” and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Guzaarish.” His loss was Aditya Roy Kapur’s gain, and the rest was history.

When it comes to importing talent from Pakistan, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, has always been a frontrunner. From actors to musicians to singers, Bhatt is known to have a soft spot for Pakistan and actively works toward finding a common ground between the two countries.

Mahesh Bhatt recently told PTI that. “I have started bringing Pakistani talents to create an atmosphere of peace and to witness brotherly environment in Bollywood. I am delighted that people have taken a cue from that and are cordial to new pool of actors from the neighbor country. The mind-set of people of Pakistan is changing.”

Singers from Pakistan have always been an impressive import to Hindi cinema and they have indeed been showered with equal love from both sides of the border. Now, time is ticking for these stars. They have to make a mark in the spotlight both in India and abroad — to get the cash registers ringing at the box-office!

Ali Zafar

 
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