I have fallen in love with Pakistan: Pooja Bhatt : Interviews News : ApunKaChoice.Com


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I have fallen in love with Pakistan: Pooja Bhatt
09th Jan 2005 22.28 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau

It has been almost a month since Pooja Bhatt ‘s film Rog was premiered at the Kara film festival in Pakistan.

However, for the actress-turned filmmaker and 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 told a news agency in New Delhi.

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 filmmakers. Infact, one such film Nazar, ready for release, stars top Pakistani actress Meera,'' Pooja said.