Pakistani film industry should be reinvented: Bhatt

Staff Report



LAHORE: The Pakistani film industry needs to be technically enhanced, said Mahesh Bhatt, an Indian film producer and writer, on Tuesday. Mr Bhatt added that Pakistani film producers did not have the skill to recognize talented artists.

Mr Bhatt, along with Pakistani film actress Meera, was answering questions regarding the first jointly produced film by India and Pakistan, ‘Nazar’. Mr Bhatt apologised for being an hour late to the ‘Meet The Press’ held at the Nisar Osmani auditorium of the Lahore Press Club (LPC). Arshad Ansari, the president of LPC, also attended the meeting.

Mr Bhatt said that the Pakistani film industry should be reinvented. He said there was a lot of undiscovered talent in Pakistan. He gave the examples of Meera, the lead actress in his film ‘Nazar’ and Najam Sheraz, one of the singers in his film ‘Murder’. He said one day a Pakistani filmmaker would acquire the latest film technology and talent to offer people good cinematic entertainment.

Mr Bhatt said that he had old relations with Pakistani artists. “When there was no talk about co-productions between India and Pakistan, I cast Mohsin Khan in Sathi”, he said adding, “Though the film was a hit, an anti-Pakistan political party got the film removed from cinemas within 15 days”. He said that Qateel Shafai had visited India to write songs for his film and it was Mr Shafai who had boosted Anu Malik’s career. He added that at that time Indians abhorred the idea of being friends with a Pakistani.

Mr Bhatt said that he had approached Meera because she was a talented actress, adding that Madhuri could not match her. He said that Meera had matched his expectation by performing superbly in ‘Nazar’. Mr Bhatt said ‘Nazar’ was more of a film on women and would be launched in January or early February (in India).

Mr Bhatt said he had been unfairly criticised for sex dominating his films. He said his film ‘Arth’ had been in tune with middle-class sensibilities. He added he had made films such as Ashqi, Dil Hai Kay Manta Nahi and Sarak when cable was dominating the electronic media.