By Muhammad Najeeb
Sixteen Hindi films were screened in Pakistan last year after a nearly four-decade ban on Indian movies was lifted. But strained ties between the neighbours following the Mumbai terror attack coupled with dipping fortunes of the Pakistani film industry may signal the end of this shortlived 'golden phase'.
Pakistan Censor Board chairperson Malik Shahnawaz Noon said the board was planning to again ban Indian movies as it was "destroying the local film industry".
"I personally believe Indian films should not be screened in Pakistan and we are working to put a ban on Bollywood movies," Noon said. Others agreed with him.
Said Syed Noor, a leading Pakistani writer-director-producer: "Some people with vested interests don't want our industry to flourish.
"We are establishing a small film industry with the help of some old and new actors and our focus will be to produce films which would attract people."
He disclosed that the government was meeting members of the film fraternity to find ways to revive local cinema.
Muhammad Sajid, a movie buff, echoed him: "These (Indian films) are harming our culture and the government should impose a ban on them."
Screening of Indian movies was banned in Pakistan after the 1965 war, but certain films were allowed by different governments like the classic "Mughal-E-Azam".
Last year, Pervez Musharraf's government lifted the ban, but the exchange of cinema too seems to have fallen victim to the increasingly strained relations between the two countries in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, which India blames on Pakistan.
While some were advocating a renewed ban on Hindi films, which are hugely popular in the country and seen on pirated DVDs, trade experts said the move to release Indian films commercially had revived the cinema culture in the country with theatre owners in most major cities earning a huge profit.
Last year, financially stricken theatre owners had threatened strikes if the ban on Indian movies was not lifted because local productions only saw empty houses.
Hindi movies did brisk business in Pakistan with cinema hall owners vying to get their screening rights. In 2008, a total of 54 films were released here. Of them 30 were local movies in various languages, 16 were Indian and eight were English movies. Audiences were thrilled.
"Taare Zameen Par" was the first release after the ban was lifted. Following Aamir Khan's directorial debut were "Singh is Kinng", "Kismat Konnection", "Welcome", "The Killer", "Bhagam Bhag", "Race", "Golmaal Returns", "Jannat", "Bhootnath", "Karzzz", "Hello", "Love Story 2050", "Dostana", "Yuvvraaj" and "Kidnap".
Khalid, an avid cine-watcher, said Indian movies had revived the cinema culture and provided excellent entertainment.
Karachi remained the hot spot for Indian films and a large number of people thronged theatres to watch their favourite Indian stars.
Unlike government officials, theatre owners say the recent tension between the neighbours over the 26/11 attacks has not affected Pakistani movie buffs.
"Why should we stop Indian movies when people like them the most. Local films are far behind Bollywood movies and there should be no restrictions on Indian films," said Safdar Khan, a cinema owner.
An official of a cineplex near Rawalpindi said: "We are having the same rush... and I believe nothing has changed after the Mumbai attacks." The craze for Hindi films has several smaller cinema halls operating illegally.
"I guess the number of such (illegal) cinema halls in Islamabad is seven. But there are about 30 such halls in Lahore and Karachi," said a private cinema hall owner in Islamabad.
He said that about 500 people watch movies at his cinema hall every month. In 2008, he screened about 40 Indian movies, including the classic "Pakeezah".

Mumbai, (IANS) — Singing legend Asha Bhosle reveals she used to often fight with her late husband, composer R.D. Burman, because he would give the best of the romantic songs to her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar.
"He would give me numbers that used to have a lot of screaming notes like 'Piya tu ab tu aaja' and 'Aaja aaja mein hoon pyaar tera'. One day I confronted him with that. And he said that if I will refuse to sing those songs, then he will never compose such tunes ever. According to him, only I could do justice to those songs. So I had to give in," Asha said at function organised for naming a road after the legendary composer, also known as Pancham.
The road in R.D. Burman's name is located in front of the house he lived in North Avenue, Santacruz here.
Going down memory lane, she offered more glimpses into the trend-setting composer's private life.
She said: "As his wife, I knew the private Pancham like nobody did, even though we lived more like friends, as partners in our musical journey than as husband and wife."
She revealed that Pancham had only two passions in life.
"One was, of course, music and the other was cooking. Since I am also a good cook, we often used to have competitions at home. That was the way he used to relax himself after thinking about music, composing tunes and experimenting with sounds," Asha said. She also disclosed that the composer was completely blind to the material side of life.
"So much so that, one day, when he saw me wearing a diamond ring, he wanted to know the name of the gem I was wearing in my finger. When I told him that it was a diamond, he asked if the diamond really looked like that. You see, that was Pancham," Asha recalled.
The seventy-five-year-old crooner, whose close association with the composer started in 1966 with "Teesri Manzil" culminated in their marriage in 1980, said that she had known Pancham from the time he had assisted his celebrated father, S.D. Burman.
"In those days, whenever Burman da (S.D. Burman) offered me a song, I would ask him what was the tune like and he would tell me to learn it from Pancham. That happened again and again. Naturally, I would be upset, because Pancham was not the music director of the films I would be singing for. It was much later that I learnt that the tunes for those songs had actually been composed by Pancham, but he never sought credit for the same," she said.
Asha said that they had a happy life together for 14 years till he died in 1994. "But he died a sad man. Mostly, he was saddened by the changing trends in Bollywood music," Asha said.
As if to corroborate her statement, in the audio-visual (AV) presented at the function, filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra made a revelation.
Chopra said that when he signed Pancham for his "1942: A Love Story" in 1993, the music company he had first approached refused to buy the music rights of the film unless he replaced him with a new generation music director.
"But I stuck to my stand and the results are there for all to see," Chopra said in the AV.
Commenting upon the the present Bollywood music scene, Asha said that Pancham, who ushered in the modern trend in Hindi film music, seeps through in most of the songs being churned out today.

 

By Maitreyee Boruah
Bangalore, (IANS) — Even as a large number of Indians spend millions of rupees every year to pursue higher education in the United States, India's school education has inspired a documentary by an American businessman who believes it is superior to that of his country.
"The film clearly indicates that Indian and Chinese education systems are better than American. In the highly competitive 21st century, India and China are providing better education to their children than the US," contends Robert A. Compton, a venture capitalist, who is executive producer of the documentary.
Titled "Two Million Minutes", the 187-minute documentary was screened in Bangalore recently, the first screening in India. The documentary has been screened over 50 times in the US, including at Harvard Law School, in the last one year and has received a mixed reaction.
The documentary features six high school students - two each from India, China and the US - talking about the kind of education systems available in their countries.
"Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the eighth grade, they have approximately four years or two million minutes to prepare for college and ultimately a career. Thus, high school is a crucial period in shaping the life of a student," Compton told the media at the screening here.
The film examines through these students the kind of education they are getting in their respective countries and how it will further shape the economy of their country in the 21st century, he added.
"The film which we have been screening in the US has generated a public debate across America. The film clearly shows that higher education system in India and China is well ahead of the US in preparing highly competitive and skilled people, compared to the US," Compton said.
Bangalore was chosen for the India launch of the DVD as the documentary features two students from the city - Rohit Sridharan and Apoorva Uppala from St. Paul's English School.
The two American students are Neil Ahrendt and Brittany Brechbuhl from Carmel High School, Indianapolis, and the Chinese students are Jin Ruizhang and Hu Xiaoyuan from the Shanghai Nanyang Model High School, Shanghai.
The documentary chronicles their daily lives, with the students giving an account of how they prioritise their time, what they learn and how well prepared they are to take advantage of the opportunities ahead.
"Whereas in India and China, the students are fully focussed on their academics and get little time to pursue their other dreams, in America the students get a chance to take it easy, when it comes to competition," said Compton.
The film says that India and China have made dramatic leaps in educating their middle classes, each comparable in size to the entire US population. Compared to the US, China now produces eight times more scientists and engineers, while India puts out up to three times as many as the US.
"Meanwhile, the US needs to be worried about a few facts - like less than 40 percent of US students take a science course more rigorous than general biology, and a mere 18 percent take advanced classes in physics, chemistry or biology," said Compton, adding that in India and China, the focus is more on science and mathematics, which is a good sign in today's competitive world.
He also said that China was giving due importance to entrepreneurship education in the curriculum, thus revolutionising its entire economy.
"India and the US need to learn from China and its education system, especially on entrepreneurship education."
Asked if an account of the daily life of three high school boys and three girls was enough to judge the three education systems, Compton said these students were selected on the basis of performance in both academics and extra-curricular activities.
He said he decided to make the documentary after being impressed by the kind of education at school level during a visit to India in 2005.
"I was amazed by the Indian education system and the progress it has made in recent times. When compared with the US education system, our research found that the Indian education system is ahead. That gave me an idea of coming up with a film," Compton said.