'I've fallen in love with Pakistan'


I have fallen in love with Pakistan: Pooja Bhatt

NEW DELHI, JAN 9: It has been almost a month since her film 'Rog' was premiered at the Kara film festival in Pakistan. However, for actress-turned filmmaker Pooja Bhatt, daughter of renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, the "sweet" experience still lingers in her memory. "The film was received extremely well in Pakistan. In fact, we were given a standing ovation by the audience after the screening," Pooja Bhatt told UNI here. With the screening of her film 'Rog', which released all over India on January 7 Pooja has become the first Indian filmmaker to have two of her films premiered at the Kara film festival. Her previous venture 'Paap', which was also directed by her, had its premiere at the 2003 edition of the festival, held in December, 2003. "The public response at the festival for 'Rog' was far better than in the case of 'Paap'. With 'Rog's screening, we have entered the Limca Book of Records for having two of our films premiered at the festival," Pooja said. "My films 'Paap' and 'Rog' have the rare distinction of being the first two films in the history of Indian Cinema to have been premiered in Pakistan. It gives me great joy and pride to have this fact duly recorded in the Limca Book of World Records," she said. For Pooja, it was her love for Pakistan and its people, rather than any commercial or monetary considerations, that led her to take her film to the Kara film festival. "I fell in love with Pakistan the first time I went there in connection with the screening of my directorial venture 'Paap'. It was the overwhelming love and affection that I received at that time, coupled with the fact that it seemed like a 'second home'. "The faces and the people there are the same that you see in India that prompted me to take my film to the festival this time also," Pooja said. "In the last two years, I have come to develop a strong association with the Kara film festival. Henceforth, I have decided that I would take one of my films there every December," she said. For, Pooja, the love for Pakistan and its people was also manifested by the fact that many of her films had involved from Pakistani actors, singers or technicians. "In my earlier film "Paap", Pakistani artistes like Ali Azmat and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan had contributed songs. Also, it was the first time ever in the history of Bollywood that a Pakistani had composed background music for us. Further, my father Mahesh Bhatt, is already making a couple of films in collaboration with Pakistani film-makers. In fact, one such film 'Nazar', ready for release, stars top Pakistani actress Meera," Pooja said. Pooja said that as part of her policy, as well as that of her father Mahesh Bhatt, of encouraging new talent, she was all for giving a chance to talented artistes from Pakistan in her productions. "I will always look for musicians, actors, writers, lyric writers from Pakistan because I feel there is a lot of talent there. In fact, I genuinely feel that music people are more talented in Pakistan than in India. Unfortunately, these talented artistes do not have the kind of exposure or platform that those in Bollywood have," she said. According to Pooja, the last two years had seen increased presence of Indians and Indian films at the Kara film festival. "The last time around, when I took 'Paap', there were not many Indians at the festival. However, this year there were many more Indians among the audience and the Indian filmmakers taking their films for screenings. (Apart from 'Rog', films like Vinta Nanda's 'White Noise' and Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Maqbool' were screened at the festival, the former having its premiere at the fete)," she said. Talking about her film 'Rog', Pooja said,"It is the tale of a cop falling in love with a woman whose murder he is investigating. Basically, the film deals with the contemporary and much relevant issue of urban loneliness,' which affect most people in the city." For Pooja, Rog', her third film after the blockbuster 'Jism' and not-so-successful 'Paap', is another in a series of films which "mirror the realities of society" "My earlier films also dealt with problems of contemporary society. While Jism dealt with the prevalent trend of adultery among women in the cities, 'Paap' dealt with the dilemmas of a woman caught between the worldly pleasures and the astute life of a nun. Rog also deals with the problem of urban loneliness," she said. The film stars Irfan Khan (of 'Warrior' and 'Haasil' fame) opposite South African model Ilene Hamann who makes her debut in the film. In fact, Ilene is the first South African who has been awarded a leading role to play in a Bollywood film. "Ilene Hamann plays the leading lady who mesmerizes all who surround her with her breathtaking beauty and sensuality. I picked up Ilene for the role as there is a mystery about her which makes her seem innocent as well as sensuous at the same time. Irrfan Khan plays the lead role of the police officer who is investigating Ilene’s murder," Pooja said. Mahesh Bhatt has penned the story and M M Kreem has scored the music. A unique feature of the film is that it has been shot in a record period of 38 days. "It is always my endeavour to make the film as economically as possible. Unlike many filmmakers, I do not want to experiment at the cost of someone else's money. Of course, it helps when you are working with highly professional actors like Irrfan Khan and Illene. In this context, I can confidently say that whether or not 'Rog' clicks at the box office, nobody associated with it will lose anything," Pooja said. (NewIndpress/UNI)
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