|
Raj Kumar Santoshi may have moved
Lahore
in his adaptation of the play "Jis Lahore Nahin Dekhya Woh Jamiya
Nahin" to
Hyderabad
, but filmmaker Mahesh
Bhatt is all set to shoot an entire Bollywood film - a Hindu-Muslim love story
- in
Pakistan
's
cultural capital.
The romance saga will star Pakistani singing sensation
Noumad opposite an Indian girl who's still to be finalised. The untitled film
will be directed by Mohit Suri who had earlier made "Awaarapan" - a
small portion of which was shot in
Lahore
.
"It is a pre-partition 'Titanic'. It's a story of
intense love between two culturally-crossed individuals during times of abject
hatred. It's the story of a Muslim boy who saves the Hindu girl from his own
people and gives up his life in protecting her," Bhatt told IANS.
"We're introducing a new star from
Pakistan
and a completely new girl from Bharat (
India
). The
Pakistani boy is Noumad, a singing sensation in his country," said the
filmmaker who has worked with quite a few Pakistani artists, including actress
Meera in "Zeher".
This would be the first Bollywood film to be shot entirely
in
Pakistan
.
"We'll, of course, shoot the entire film in
Lahore
since that's where
the film is located. We'll be using their infrastructure and work force. The
cultural secretary and the governor of
Punjab
have extended whole-hearted support to our film," said Bhatt.
The director feels
Pakistan
can become a leading
location for Bollywood.
"But first we must shed this Pak-phobia. It took me
five years to create friendship across the border before we at Vishesh Films
began to collaborate with
Pakistan
to make films. Such things cannot happen overnight.
"I feel other filmmakers who shoot Pakistan-located
films in
India
aren't trying hard enough. They must be more open in their interaction across
the border. To touch your dreams, you need to stretch more than just your
hands," he said.
The shooting of Bhatt's ambitious India-Pakistan venture is
set to start early next year. |