It’s news like these that make us wonder, how long will radical, nationalist Indians keep imposing the controversial ban on Pakistani artists? Ever since the Uri attack that fuelled tensions between India and Pakistan last year, many people from both sides of the border have condemned the ban on Pakistani artists in Bollywood. Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, Saba Qamar, Madiha Imam, Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui were all barred from promoting their films in India and there is a huge question mark over whether we’ll ever see cross border collaborations again or not.
But it seems as though things are finally settling down. For instance, the Lahore High Court on Tuesday lifted a ban on the airing of Indian content on our local TV channels imposed by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA). LHC Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said, “The world has become a global village,” adding that Indian content with objectionable or anti-Pakistan content could be censored but the ban must be lifted.
On the Indian side of things, we’re seeing a growing enthusiasm towards Pakistani music, Pakistani actors and Pakistani films as well. The Indian Express has been reporting on two of our upcoming films, Punjab Nai Jaungi and Na Maloom Afraad 2, both of which will be releasing on Eid ul Azha this year.
The news publication reported that Sadaf Kanwal was winning their hearts with her appearance in NMA2‘s song ‘Kaif O Suroor‘ (Move over Mahira Khan and Saba Qamar, Pakistan’s new enchantress Sadaf Kanwal is winning our hearts – Indian Express) while Punjab Nai Jaungi seems to be a “complete entertainer”(Humayun Saeed, Mehwish Hayat bring a complete entertainer – Indian Express). We can’t agree more as we’re looking forward to these two films as well!
Both articles had another thing in common: they hoped for the situation to become amiable again and to see Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan again on their screens. We are all rooting for the same!
