Pak entertainment | despardes.com

OCT 10: Filmstar Meera will star in a film based on the life of 70s popular Indian actress Parveen Bobby and will leave the film industry in 2007 after performing in five classical films including her own production being made for Rs 100 million.

Giving an exclusive interview to Daily Times at her Defence Housing Authority residence, she gave insight to her trip to India and her future plans. She unveiled some aspects of her life related to intuitions and an Umra she recently performed.

Meera said she had to face a lot of problems earlier due to her immature attitude. �I was not thinking then�, an emotional Meera said. �I spent the time I should�ve spent in college on cold floors of film studios�. She said that she did not enjoy her childhood and grew up at once. �It was as if I was never a child. I did not know how to dress. I was innocent and shy girl but the glamour world and its experiences brought about a big change in me. Now after 10 years, I am a totally different Meera.�

She said that she had many �meaningful dreams� during her stay in India. �I started praying regularly because a saint, who would appear in my dreams after my visit to Hazrat Nizam-ud-Din Aulia�s shrine, asked me to pray,� she said. She said she had been into a series of intuitions after her visit to the shrine. �Many things happened as I saw them in my dreams but I can�t share them publicly. I even performed Umra after that.�

She said that she would marry in the next two years and before that she has decided to act in five quality films, which would be remembered for years to come. �The first of these films will be my own production Siraf Aap Key Liye which will be produced with a budget of Rs 100 million.� She said that the film�s planning and other production formalities would be decided in her newly established production house in Dubai. �I shall quit the showbiz world after doing five �classic� films and from now, I will only perform in family-oriented films,� Meera informed.

Meera will work in a film �The Killer� and another on Parveen Bobby�s life. �I have offers from Pakistan but most of them are for Punjabi films. Punjabi films are more in the scene in Pakistan but I don�t have the figure and aptitude for them. I am not Saima,� she said.

She said she had met almost all Indian film industry stars, including Preity Zinta and Shahrukh Khan, and had a good time. �Rani Mukherjee is my best friend. She spent a lot of time improving my speech and my over all personality. The same goes for Sanjay Dutt, he is also a good friend. Dutt and I will soon hold a show for earthquake victims either in Delhi or Bombay. Mahesh Bhatt is like a father to me and he helped me a lot. I am doing a film with Subhash Ghai.�

Meera said she did not face opposition from the Indian film industry except for a bit lobbying, which happened everywhere. However, she is facing opposition from the Pakistani film industry. �People even did magic on me but I survived with the grace of God,� she added. She claimed that no one except Reema could compete with her in the Pakistani film industry. Also read: Meera's turnons

Meera wants joint Indo-Pak quake relief show

LAHORE: Meera has announced Rs 5 lakh in aid for earthquake victims and a campaign in which the entire film industry would go door to door with her to raise funds. She was addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Monday, accompanied by film actress Resham and dress designer BG. The actress said Rani Mukerjee, Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu had telephoned her from India and expressed their shock and grief over the tragic disaster. Meera said Dutt had talked to Sonia Gandhi for a combined Indian and Pakistani stars� show in Pakistan. BG asked the government to issue a no objection certificate for the show to raise funds for earthquake victims. Resham announced Rs 100,000 in aid and called the earthquake Pakistan�s biggest crisis, for which the film industry should hold fundraising activities. Meera and Resham said they would begin the campaign on Tuesday and collect funds in Liberty Market riding on a truck.

(Sources: Daily Times)