Pakistan waives 41-year ban on Indian movies, premieres 'Taj Mahal'

Pakistan waives 41-year ban on Indian movies, premieres 'Taj Mahal'
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Blog by Stefan Dill
April 28, 2006

By ASIF SHAHZAD
Associated Press Writer

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Hundreds of jubilant Pakistani fans thronged a cinema in this eastern city for the premiere of a popular Indian movie, after the president waived a 41-year-old ban on screening Indian films as a peace gesture.

Bollywood stars and moviemakers traveled to the capital of Pakistan's moribund film industry for the red-carpet gala viewing late Wednesday of "Taj Mahal," a 17th century love story set in the famous Mughal mausoleum of the same name.

For the film's heroine, Sonia Jehan _ granddaughter of famed Pakistani singer-actress, the late Noor Jehan _ it was a dream come true to be in Pakistan and be part of the film, which was shot in India and released in November.

"This is a very proud moment for me. I am a Pakistani who has arrived from India with a message of love," she told reporters before the movie's premiere at Plaza Cinema.

Pakistan imposed a ban on Indian films in its theaters shortly before the two countries fought their second war in 1965.

But President Gen. Pervez Musharraf granted permission for the screening of "Taj Mahal" in Pakistan as a gesture of goodwill, Pakistan's Minister for Culture Ghazi Gulab Jamal said.

Musharraf also allowed another Indian classic _ "Mughal-e-Azam" or the Great Mughal _ to be premiered in Lahore last week. The epic movie is based on a love-story of a Mughal prince who falls for a lowly courtesan.

"The only ground for permitting the exhibition of the films was that the producers of both the movies had agreed to spend their income for the welfare of earthquake-hit areas in Pakistan and India," said Ziauddin, who is chairman of Pakistan Film Censor Board, a government department which gives permission to movies to be screened in the country.

Ziauddin, who like some Pakistanis uses only one name, said that Pakistan has given permission for two other Indian movies _ "Sohni Mahiwal" and "Bride and Prejudice" _ but it was for the distributors when to screen them.

The nuclear rivals began a peace process two years ago to bury their many differences, and as relations improve, Pakistani cinema owners and filmmakers want the government to lift the movie ban. Cinemas here are shutting at a rapid rate because of the illegal import of CD copies of blockbusters from India's booming movie industry, known as Bollywood.

"Taj Mahal," directed by Akbar Khan, mixes history of the Mughal empire with song-and-dance. It's about the marriage of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz and is set in the famous 17th century marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, located in Agra, near India's capital New Delhi. The mausoleum was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, who died bearing their 14th child.

The movie's leading man, Syed Zulfikar, said he was excited to be in Lahore, and hoped the film received a good response.

While Pakistani officials say the ban on Indian movies won't be lifted, the screening could be a sign of improving ties between the two countries.

Indian film maker Mahesh Bhatt said years ago he couldn't have imagined Indian films being shown in Pakistan. "Today, it is a reality," Bhatt said.

Jamal, however, poured cold water on hopes on an end to the embargo. "The ban is still very much there," he said.

Taj Mahal will be shown in 13 Pakistani cinemas this week.

Notes: while this is certainly a great development for Indo-Pak relations, "Taj Mahal" as a movie - at a total production cost of over 20 million dollars, it is reputed to be the most expensive Indian movie to date - did poorly at the box office and met with very mixed reviews. The director seems undaunted by the response to his historical opus, however, as reports indicate one of his future projects to be a film about Genghis Khan.

Other recent historical epics also have not done well ("MangalPandey" ). Public disnterest in the genre, or just poor film-making?

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