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While Pakistani actors like Ali Zafar, Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas have become popular faces in Bollywood, Pakistani director Sabiha Sumar feels that Indian actors too should work in the film industry across the border.
Director of the critically-acclaimed film 'Khamosh Pani', Sumar is currently here to attend the four-day 8th edition of NFDC Film Bazaar.
The 53-year-old filmmaker said that cinema can bridge the gap between the two nations only when exchange of artistes takes place. "We should have more Indian actors working in Pakistan. Artistes from both the sides should be able to use resources freely across the border," Sumar told PTI today.
Her most successful co-production project 'Khamosh Pani', a Punjab-set drama in Pakistan, starred Indian actors Kiron Kher, Shilpa Shukla besides Pakistani actor Aamir Malik and Arshad Mehmood. Sumar, who has spent almost ten years in India before returning to Karachi, said there should be co-production treaty between India and Pakistan which can facilitate both nations to use their resources in a better way.
"There should be a co-production treaty between India and Pakistan. I think we would be able to use each others' resources more freely and easily. It is cheaper to shoot in Pakistan as compared to India and therefore Indian filmmakers could really benefit. Our actors are very popular in India. It can be a win-win situation for both the sides," she said.
The director said for a co-production treaty, there should be political will from both the sides. "I presume that there is no political will because each side is worried on what they will lose... (but) they are not counting what they will gain," she added
Sumar, however feels that eventually a treaty may be signed as Indians are business-savvy people and will understand the importance of it. She also said that Pakistani films should be distributed in India as their films are also very much 'content driven'.
"My film 'Good Morning Karachi' does not have Indian actors but Pakistani actors in the film are very well known back there. They are well-known in Pakistan but not in India, while Indian stars are popular in Pakistan," the director said.
The filmmaker said that Indian media should resist themselves from projecting Pakistan as an 'enemy country' through their content shown in films and television. "I have lived in India for ten years. I used to watch news channels, they were full of Pakistani news which was very distressing. But we (Pakistan) are not about bad news on India," she said.
The director also claimed that there is no piracy in Pakistan but the pirated DVDs sold there are actually arriving from India.
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