A year ago, I mentioned that Pakistan had taken a step towards lifting its long standing ban on Indian films by agreeing “in principle” to show Mughal-e-Azam, one of the great classics of Indian cinema. Evidently in an optimistic mood, I expressed the hope that where Mughal-e-Azam lead, other films would follow.

How wrong I was.

Pakistan’s Culture Minister, GG Jamal, has declared that, while Indian actors would be welcome in Pakistan, Indian films would not. Bizarrely, however, foreign films starring Pakistani and Indian stars will be permitted.

The minister made no comment on why Pakistan TV’s “telethon” featuring Indian film stars had to be called off last week.

A host of Bollywood artistes were scheduled to participate in it for collecting funds for the October 2005 earthquake victims, but cancelled the visit after poet-writer Javed Akhtar was denied a visa.

The minister also had a whinge over the fact that the number of cinemas in Pakistan has plummeted from 1500 to 211. Quite frankly, I’m not surprised.

Trackback this Post | Feed on comments to this Post