Mahesh Bhatt has been an avid promoter of Indo-Pak relations since many years, and now Bollywood super-star Shahrukh Khan has also expressed his desire to visit Pakistan. Shahrukh has his roots from Pakistan as his father and his family hails from Peshawar. Shahrukh Khan is keen to take his three children to visit his family’s hometown, and wishes that the relation between Pakistan and India improves soon.
He expressed his desire to visit Pakistan when Pakistan’s former foreign minister Hinna Rabbani invited him to Pakistan to an event. He spoke a lot of good things about Peshawar which he had visited once in his teens with his father. He stated:
“My family is from Peshawar and few of them still live there. I would love to come to Peshawar and bring my children over because my father took me when I was 15 or 16. I still have some of the greatest memories of the time I spent with my father in Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore. I want to take my kids there”
Shahrukh Khan was born and raised in Delhi but his father, Taj Mohammad Khan came from Peshawar and was a freedom fighter. Shahrukh wants to bring his three kids, Aryan, Suhana, and AbRam to Pakistan to make them familiar with their roots.
“I hope with whatever issues and stresses we have… I hope we become friends, we become friendlier, we become like a family and one together.” said Shahrukh Khan.
He is a promoter of good relations between Pakistan and India and hopes that both the countries keep their culture differences aside and join hands. He further added:
“When I travel abroad, I notice it [cultural differences] even more, because sitting in your nation you can’t make out. But when I go to London, Dubai or US, you don’t even get to know who is from where – there’s no cultural difference. I think people should forget and continue to be what we used to be”
Another keen promoter of Indo-Pak relations is the popular Bollywood Director Mahesh Bhatt who has also made it a point to promote the talent in Pakistan by giving them a chance in Bollywood. Imran Abbas Naqvi, Sara Loren and Meera all have debuted in Bollywood through his movies along with many other singers.
Recently, he announced that he is going to produce a theatre play with actors from both India and Pakistan. The theatre play is named ‘Milne Do’. According to reports, ‘it will be an intense love story between two individuals from across the borders, and aims at promoting peace.’
Indian Actor Imran Zahid will be playing the male lead along with a female lead from Pakistan. The actors will perform live in cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
Sharing his feelings regarding the promotion of peace between the two countries, Bhatt said, “I have always maintained that a movie or a play can be a greater vehicle of peace than all the lectures we give. Any message, if communicated through storytelling, touches a chord. This play will be an emotional transaction between industries on both sides.”
It is good to know that famous Bollywood personalities are keen to develop good relations with Pakistan!
Mariam Shafiq