‘Pakistani actors are used as a publicity gimmick’

Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan believes that artistes from across the border create an initial curiosity about movies but fail to attract crowds to theatres

I honestly believe that using Pakistani actors in Hindi films doesn’t really help a movie’s fate at the box-office. Indian filmmakers use these artistes to generate a lot of buzz around their movies. No matter, what kind of love-hate relationship we share with Pakistan, we are still curious to know about its citizens. And Indian directors and producers capitalise on this fact. But having said that, it does not attract the crowds to theatres. For instance: Tere Bin Laden is working not because of Pakistani pop singer Ali Zafar, but due to its story.

Similarly, the period when a film releases is also of utmost importance. Today when Tere Bin Laden, has been released, the political relations between both the countries are not so bad as they were few months back. But if the time is not good, then you end up facing a lot of difficulties just the way I did while filming my debut movie Lahore. Three years ago, when the relations between India and Pakistan were good, I had initially approached Jawed Sheikh, who is considered as Pakistan’s Amitabh Bachchan, for a role in my film. After narrating the script to him on telephone, he was eager to work with me.

I also wanted to cast Miss Pakistan, Mehereen Sayed, as the female lead for Lahore after meeting her at a bridal show in India. But soon the political relations between both the countries became very bad. The producers become wary that the negative publicity would affect the film’s marketing and box-office prospects. So I had to scrap my plans of roping the Pakistani actors. Finally only Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was roped in for a qawwali.

The second half of my film had to be shot in Pakistan. So I approached the concerned authorities for the requisite permissions but I didn’t get any reply. There was also a lot of backlash after the first teaser of my film was released. Finally, Lahore was never released in Pakistan.

Pakistani actors, however, are very professional and talented. They are eager to work and make it big in Indian cinema. They are recognised as stars back home only after they are accepted here. Roping in Pakistani actors who are based in South-East Asia is not a big deal. The real problem arises with those who stay across the border as they have to face a lot of work permit issues. Rather than facing so many hurdles, an Indian filmmaker finally thinks that he might as well cast some local talent.

In Pakistan, cricket and music are the two major forms of entertainment. Television is also quite big and has good opportunities but cinema is still looked down upon. They have neither the technical finesse nor enough theatres to screen films. So when actors from Pakistani films come down to India, it’s not a big deal because they are not stars in the real sense of the term. Initially, they take some time to understand the medium of Indian movies. And by the time they finally understand it, it’s too late as their film usually sinks at the box-office. The audience has given its verdict and they can’t manage to get any good offers.

But singers from across the border manage to get recognition here because they are constantly innovating and doing variations. The music scene in Pakistan is thriving. Naturally, when those singers come to India, their work is recognised and they get better feedback.

The cultural exchange between both the countries will definitely narrow the divide over a period of time. Till a few years back, neither of us knew about each other’s cinema and music. But today things are completely different. We know a lot more about Pakistani singers and music bands. Few years ago, the Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye was also released in India. Similarly, even they watch our movies. During the making of Lahore, I met a lot of distributors across the border who know a lot about Bollywood. So things are progressing steadily.