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Babban (Arshad Warsi) in Abhishek Chaubey’s Ishqiya
(2010) and Dedh Ishqiya (2014).The patrician Javed
Sheikh has had a longer run, starring in John Matthew
Matthan’s Shikhar (2005), Shirish Kunder’s Jaan-EMann (2006), Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om (2008), Anil
Sharma’s Apne (2007), Vipul Shah’s Namastey London
(2007) and Imtiaz Ali’s Tamsaha (2015). Sheikh’s most
recent release is the cross-border rom-com Happy Bhag
Jayegi (2016) by Mudassar Aziz, who also stars his
daughter, Momal Sheikh. India-Pakistani co-productions
are rare, but two examples stand out. One is Khamosh
Pani (2003), directed by Pakistani director Sabiha
Sumar, written by Indian filmmaker and writer Paromita
Vohra , and starring Kirron Kher and Shilpa Shukla. The
moving period drama, about a widow’s troubled relationship with her radicalised son, won the Best Film (Golden
Leopard) prize at the Locarno International Film Festival.Nandita Das crossed over to the other side to appear
in Mehreen Jabbar’s Ramchand Pakistani (2008) as
Champa, a Pakistani Hindu woman whose husband and
son stray into India. Naseeruddin Shah has also been
appearing in Pakistani films, such as Shoaib Mansoor’s
Khuda Kay Liye (2007) and Zinda Bhaag (2013), by
Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi. Khuda Kay Liye, which
starred Pakistani superstar Shan and Fawad Khan, was
released by Eros Entertainment in India, followed by
Mansoor’s Bol in 2013. Two of Bol’s lead actresses, Humaima Malick and Mahira Khan, have been signed up
by Bollywood. Malick headlined the Emraan Hashmistarrer Raja Natwarlal (2014), while Mahira Khan has
been paired with Shah Rukh Khan in the 2017 release
Raees. India has also been able to share the talent of
Pakistani musicians over the years. Chupke Chupke,
the popular ghazal by Ghulam Ali, whose concerts in In-
dia have been regularly blocked by Shiv Sena, was used
in BR Chopra’s marital drama Nikaah (1982). Subhash
Ghai recruited renowned Pakistani folk singer Reshma
to record her classic love ballad, Lambi Judai, for his
romance Hero (1983). In a 2004 interview, Reshma,
whose family left Rajasthan for Pakistan when she was
a toddler, said, “I was born in India and brought up in
Pakistan. To me, India and Pakistan are the left and the
right eyes.” One of the greatest Pakistani exports in music is the qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who recorded
several songs in collaboration with Indian musicians and
lyricists, including remixed versions of Piya Re and Aafreen Aafreen (with lyrics by Javed Akhtar) and Gurus of
Peace with AR Rahman.Numerous Pakistani singers
and bands have followed in Khan’s footsteps, including
his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Strings, Ali Zafar (who
has also acted in Tere
Bin Laden and Kill Dill),
Shafqat Amanat Ali
Khan and Atif Aslam.
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,
Shafqat Khan and
Aslam are especially
popular in India. Rahat
Fateh Ali Khan is one of
Hindi cinema’s leading
singers, most recently
singing the hit track Jag
Ghoomeya from Sultan
(2016). Shafqat Khan
has sung Mitwa (Kabhi
Alvidaa Naa Kehna,
2006), Tere Naina (My
Name Is Khan, 2010)
and Manchala (Hasee
Toh Phasee, 2014).
Aslam has crooned the
hits Tere Bin (Bas Ek
Pal, 2006), Pehli Nazar
Mein (Race, 2008) and Jeena Jeena (Badlapur, 2015).
Indian musicians too feature on Coke Studio Pakistan,
such as Shilpa Rao in the 2016 edition. Subhash Chandra’s decision to stop airing Pakistani soaps on Zindagi
also casts a shadow over the Zeal For Unity initiative,
which is aimed at promoting peace between India and
Pakistan. The idea is to produce 12 short films by six
Indian and six Pakistani filmmakers. Ketan Mehta has
directed an adaptation of Saadat Hasan Manto’s short
story Toba Tek Singh while Tigmanshu Dhulia has been
recruited for Baarish Aur Chowmein. From Pakistan,
Shahbaz Sumar has made Khaema Mein Matt Jhankain,
a rural-set satire about a travelling circus, while Gaur
and Nabi have helmed the reality show spoof Jeewan
Hathi, starring Naseeruddin Shah among other actors.
“Salaam or Namaste, it’s o