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IHT : A Muslim-Hindu movie kiss? Outrageous, some Pakistanis say
From International Herald Tribune
A Muslim-Hindu movie kiss? Outrageous, some Pakistanis say
By Salman Masood The New York Times
Monday, March 28, 2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan With her sultry good looks and her slinky dance
moves, the Pakistani star who calls herself Meera has won the
adoration of moviegoers here.
..
But now she is afraid for her life. Her crime: The Indian news media
reported that she had kissed an Indian actor onscreen while starring
in an Indian film. To top it off, the actor in question, Ashmit Patel,
is a Hindu.
..
The film, "Nazar," by the Indian director Soni Radzan and her husband,
the producer Mahesh Bhatt, has not yet been released, but the report
that Meera kisses Patel in the film, which hit the news media last
month, has brought a storm of criticism.
..
Local news channels repeatedly flashed snippets of the movie: him
leaning toward her, their lips coming closer, her letting out a heavy
sigh. But then, because censors do not permit a kiss to be shown on
Pakistani television, the picture turns fuzzy and the rest is left to
the imagination.
..
Conservative Islamists are incensed at the thought of a Muslim woman's
kissing a Hindu. Some have called for an apology; others have filed a
lawsuit, demanding that she be censured for an "immoral scene," though
it is unclear what the court could do if it agreed. Still others have
issued death threats.
..
Meera, who says she is 24, acknowledged in a telephone interview that
she had kissed the actor, though she has indicated in other interviews
that she did not. She denied, though, that there are any "vulgar or
bold" scenes in the movie. "It is a baseless controversy," she said in
the interview from Karachi, the southern port city where she has been
staying since her return from India on March 9.
..
Her own actions in the movie, she insisted, were in keeping with what
her character demanded. "Acting means freedom of expression," she
said.
..
Trouble dogged her in India last week, too, as she landed at an
airport in New Delhi on Wednesday, at the invitation of Bhatt, who
also wrote the film's script, only to be told by the immigration
authorities that her visa was valid for arrival only in Mumbai. She
was detained for several hours, then allowed to stay.
..
Meera, who has starred in 56 Pakistani films since her start in the
movie business in 1996, is no stranger to steamy scenes. Pakistani
films, like Indian ones, are rife with suggestive song-and-dance
numbers in which the heroine, sometimes wrapped in a wet sari, makes
provocative, hip-thrusting moves.
..
"Maybe they wanted me to work in the movie wearing a burka," she said,
referring to the head-to-toe cloak worn by some Muslim women.
..
"I have an open mind. I don't have to ask people what to do, what to
wear, what hairstyle to keep."
..
Nevertheless, she and her family, who live in Lahore, say they have
received countless intimidating phone calls in the last month. She has
said she will not return to Lahore unless Pakistan's president,
General Pervez Musharraf, guarantees her safety. "I need protection,"
she said. "I am scared to go to Lahore."
..
Officially, it is illegal to show Indian movies in Pakistan's
theaters, but there is a huge black market for them. People watch them
on cassettes or DVDs, and Indian film stars are household names.
..
The few Pakistani movie theaters that have not already been turned
into shopping malls are pressing for the right to show Bollywood
pictures. Theater owners are threatening to go on strike over the
issue.
..
Some Pakistanis have expressed surprise that the reports about Meera's
film have caused so much criticism. "'Nazar' frankly contained nothing
more licentious than any Pakistani film," Hasan Zaidi wrote this month
in Dawn, an English-language daily.
..
http://www.iht.com/
--
Steven Ung
IHT : A Muslim-Hindu movie kiss? Outrageous, some Pakistanis say
From International Herald Tribune
A Muslim-Hindu movie kiss? Outrageous, some Pakistanis say
By Salman Masood The New York Times
Monday, March 28, 2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan With her sultry good looks and her slinky dance
moves, the Pakistani star who calls herself Meera has won the
adoration of moviegoers here.
..
But now she is afraid for her life. Her crime: The Indian news media
reported that she had kissed an Indian actor onscreen while starring
in an Indian film. To top it off, the actor in question, Ashmit Patel,
is a Hindu.
..
The film, "Nazar," by the Indian director Soni Radzan and her husband,
the producer Mahesh Bhatt, has not yet been released, but the report
that Meera kisses Patel in the film, which hit the news media last
month, has brought a storm of criticism.
..
Local news channels repeatedly flashed snippets of the movie: him
leaning toward her, their lips coming closer, her letting out a heavy
sigh. But then, because censors do not permit a kiss to be shown on
Pakistani television, the picture turns fuzzy and the rest is left to
the imagination.
..
Conservative Islamists are incensed at the thought of a Muslim woman's
kissing a Hindu. Some have called for an apology; others have filed a
lawsuit, demanding that she be censured for an "immoral scene," though
it is unclear what the court could do if it agreed. Still others have
issued death threats.
..
Meera, who says she is 24, acknowledged in a telephone interview that
she had kissed the actor, though she has indicated in other interviews
that she did not. She denied, though, that there are any "vulgar or
bold" scenes in the movie. "It is a baseless controversy," she said in
the interview from Karachi, the southern port city where she has been
staying since her return from India on March 9.
..
Her own actions in the movie, she insisted, were in keeping with what
her character demanded. "Acting means freedom of expression," she
said.
..
Trouble dogged her in India last week, too, as she landed at an
airport in New Delhi on Wednesday, at the invitation of Bhatt, who
also wrote the film's script, only to be told by the immigration
authorities that her visa was valid for arrival only in Mumbai. She
was detained for several hours, then allowed to stay.
..
Meera, who has starred in 56 Pakistani films since her start in the
movie business in 1996, is no stranger to steamy scenes. Pakistani
films, like Indian ones, are rife with suggestive song-and-dance
numbers in which the heroine, sometimes wrapped in a wet sari, makes
provocative, hip-thrusting moves.
..
"Maybe they wanted me to work in the movie wearing a burka," she said,
referring to the head-to-toe cloak worn by some Muslim women.
..
"I have an open mind. I don't have to ask people what to do, what to
wear, what hairstyle to keep."
..
Nevertheless, she and her family, who live in Lahore, say they have
received countless intimidating phone calls in the last month. She has
said she will not return to Lahore unless Pakistan's president,
General Pervez Musharraf, guarantees her safety. "I need protection,"
she said. "I am scared to go to Lahore."
..
Officially, it is illegal to show Indian movies in Pakistan's
theaters, but there is a huge black market for them. People watch them
on cassettes or DVDs, and Indian film stars are household names.
..
The few Pakistani movie theaters that have not already been turned
into shopping malls are pressing for the right to show Bollywood
pictures. Theater owners are threatening to go on strike over the
issue.
..
Some Pakistanis have expressed surprise that the reports about Meera's
film have caused so much criticism. "'Nazar' frankly contained nothing
more licentious than any Pakistani film," Hasan Zaidi wrote this month
in Dawn, an English-language daily.
..
http://www.iht.com/
--
Steven Ung
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