Pakistan lifts ban on films from India

Pakistan lifts ban on films from India: Report
The Hindu News Update Service

New Delhi, Jan. 22 (AP): Films from India's prolific Bollywood movie industry _ officially banned for decades in Pakistan but still watched by millions there _ have become legal, a news report said on Sunday.

Pakistan outlawed public screenings of Indian films in 1965, the year the nuclear-armed neighbor countries fought the second of their three wars.

But now, both countries are working hard on a sweeping peace process.

The Times of India newspaper quoted Saeed Rizvi, President of the Pakistan Film Producers Association, as saying the Indian film ban has been lifted.

``The censor board on Friday deleted the words `Indian artiste' and `Indian director' from the guidelines, which had earlier prevented release of films of Indian actors and directors in Pakistan,'' he was quoted as saying.

Authorities in Pakistan could not immediately be reached to confirm the report.

India's Hindi-language film industry, dubbed Bollywood, is the world's largest by viewership and the number of films it churns out each year.

Millions around the world watch the exuberant song-and-dance features, even in countries where Hindi isn't understood.

Even during the ban _ and despite a half-century of bitter rivalry between the two countries _ Indian films are hugely popular in Pakistan. Illicit copies are easy to find.

Pakistani cultural products are legal in India, and Pakistan's poetry, songs and television dramas are widely popular there. Several Pakistani poets and singers are superstars in India.

The first Indian film to be shown in Pakistan with formal permission will be the 1984 romance ``Sohni Mahiwal,'' a joint venture between a Russian and an Indian company, Sunday's newspaper quoted Rizvi as saying.

He said the decision could lead joint Pakistan-India film projects.

``We have wanted this to happen for a long time. With this notification, things definitely look bright or our industry,'' he was quoted as saying.

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