Mahesh Bhatt
Is the Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt caught in the wrong job? Probably yes because in the manner he supports Pakistan’s artists, it seems that he may do a better job as external affairs minister of India.
It is no secret that irrespective of what the circumstances have been, Mahesh and his brother Mukesh Bhatt have always kept their arms open for the artists from across the border and many actors, lyrists, singers and musicians from Pakistan have had an easy entry into Bollywood through their two banners Vishesh Films and Pooja Bhatt Productions.
Though, people involved in various fields, whether its art, literature, sports or cinema have maintained that they and their noble professions should be kept away from politics, after the Mumbai attack in November 2008, it seemed nothing remains in isolation and irrespective of who you are and what you do, India as a country has got united to oppose Pakistan.
But as usual, this time also, one man, who is going to divert from the usual path and follow his own way is Mahesh Bhatt. When the entire country is riding on an anti-Pakistan wave, Mahesh Bhatt is planning to shoot a love story, where a Muslim boy falls in love with a Hindu girl. Though, there is nothing wrong in filming such a story, Mahesh Bhatt plans to take his entire cast and crew to shoot an entire film in the city of Lahore. Bhatt justifies his move by calling it the demand of the story and the script, which is based in pre-partitioned time in Lahore..
Mahesh Bhatt is said to have already selected a singer cum actor from Pakistan, Nouman for the lead male character and is said to be on a lookout for a fresh face from India, who will play the lead female character in this film, which is primarily based on the story of Titanic.
Though Mahesh Bhatt is known to make some good and interesting films, he has to be careful this time around because the audiences attitude towards stories focusing on Pakistan depends entirely on our relations with the country at a given point of time. After the Kargil war when the relations were at an all time low, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha did record business and so did Main Hoon Na, talking of peace in better times after the Lahore agreement. But, Hindustan Ki Kasam, propagating peace between the two countries, released when the memories of Kargil war were fresh in people’s mind, failed to evoke good response.
So, while shooting in Lahore, Mahesh Bhatt needs to think that his film is in-tuned with the present socio-political situation. But then, Mahesh Bhatt just makes films. Someone, who sits down to think what he is making and how the film will fair at the Box office, certainly can’t be Mahesh Bhatt.
Image Source: Yahoo Movies
