A Pakistani movie on the dilemma faced by liberal Muslims became the first film to be commercially released across theatres in India on Friday after more than four decades, media reports said.
Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) which stars Pakistani actors Shan, model Iman Ali and India's Naseeruddin Shah, ended the ban imposed by the countries on each others' films after they went to war in 1965. The film's premiere was held in the entertainment capital of Mumbai on Thursday night, the NDTV network reported.
"It is a historic day and the first time a Pakistani film has been released in Indian multiplexes," Indian producer Mukesh Bhatt told the NDTV. Actress Meeta Vashisht said it was a "good exchange" between the people of both countries.
"The gulf between us (people of India and Pakistan) should be bridged. We would have been closer to each other had these distances not existed," a Pakistani actor was quoted by the news channel as saying.
The film depicts the dilemma, well-educated and liberal Pakistanis face after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. While western countries look at them as potential terrorists, fundamentalists also frown on them.
Made at a budget of 60 million Pakistani rupees (100,000 dollars), the film was at the centre of a controversy when extremists and Pakistani clerics opposed it. But it became a huge hit in Pakistan soon after its release. Director Shoaib Mansoor told the IANS news agency about the two reasons why he made this film.
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