Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who has launched many Pakistani actors in Bollywood, voiced on the lifting of Bollywood ban in Pakistan. He termed it as the shortsightedness of the Pakistani film federation and told it was reckless of them to indulge in politics.

Read: Indian actors appreciate lifting of Bollywood ban in Pakistan

“Banning Indian films reflected the shortsightedness of the Pakistan Film Federation. It was reckless of them to indulge in politics,” he tells in a report by Mid-Day. “Because of their decision [not to screen Hindi films], their theatres were shutting down. Our contribution to their industry was immense and that boosted their business much more than indigenous content could. Eventually, one can’t deny the countries are tied culturally and emotionally,” he adds.

Bhatt believes that he is in the minority which support Pakistani artists in Bollywood but fear that their voices will not be heard. “The idea of it could incur the wrath of political parties. The Central government has to come up with a solution, if they wish to rebuild relations razed to the ground prior to the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. In my opinion, cultural space must be kept alive; the government needs to deal with terrorism in a different way,” he suggests.

The vice president of Film Federation of Indian Mr. Nitin Datar also applauds the move and calls it “symbiotically beneficial move”.

“Now, even their theatre owners will benefit hugely from the release of our films as they were suffering huge losses by not screening Indian films. Here, with a massive cash crunch, a little extra money from across the border will help stabilise the income of our producers,” he says.

Whereas, MNS, the Indian extremist party that has pushed filmmakers to ban Pakistani artists in Bollywood, still seems unimpressed. Ameya Khopkar, the head of MNS film wins tells, “We are not concerned about their decision. Pakistan has always created havoc in our country. Till terror attacks don’t stop completely, we are not going to relent.”

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