Even as Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali stated that he won’t return to India until things got better between the two countries, Mahesh Bhatt and his leading actor Imran Zahid continue their plans to stage a play on Indo-Pak amity and have even invited Ghulam Ali to contribute a song to it.
Entitled Milne Do, the play addresses the thorny issue of friendship between the two countries. Says Imran, “For me, hope of peace is respecting, and communicating with each other the way we are. I think that represents how educated and liberal we are, how we want to work together and create peace and harmony.”
After Ghulam Ali went on record that he wouldn’t be performing in India, Imran rang him up to ask him to contribute a song in the play.
Says Imran, “Ghulam Ali saab happily agreed. Music knows no boundaries. Ghulam Ali is as popular in India as Lata ji is in Pakistan. Mumbai was once a very progressive city with a liberal tradition of cultural exchange. The decline of liberal thought in Mumbai coincides with the rise of the religious right.”
Imran feels there is no need for hostility between the people of the two countries. “We, as Indians, were treated so well in Pakistan when we went to stage our plays in Karachi and Lahore. It is sad that Mumbai is rather inhospitable to Pakistani artistes. We firmly believe when everything else fails, art and culture perhaps is the only genre that can do wonders for converting antagonistic relations into friendly and cordial relations.”
With Bhatt involved in the play Milne Do, a collaborative effort of actors from India and Pakistan holds promise.
Adds Imran, “Bhatt saab has been one of the most vocal supporters of cultural exchange between India and Pakistan, and at the time of staging of Daddy in Karachi, he had said that be it television, film, theatre or fashion, he would support any activity that brought both nations closer.”
Milne Do will open in Delhi on April 24 before travelling to other cities of India and Pakistan. Laal Band from Pakistan has composed the music and will perform live during the play. Suhrita, who had written Hamari Adhuri Kahani, has written the story.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
