London, Dec. 19 (TNS): Shaan Shahid’s has always been quite adamant against working across the border, his decision to remake a Bollywood movie has naturally sparked irk amongst some.
The Pakistani film industry veteran’s upcoming venture Arth – The Destination is an adaptation from Mahesh Bhatt’s 1982 classic film, Arth.
In a recent interview with BBC Asian Network, Shaan opened up on why he chose Arth for a Pakistani remake, his other venture Zarrar, the Pakistani film industry as a whole and much more.
Talking about celebrating Pakistani cinema on the world stage, the Waar star asserted, “Well, I love it! Pakistan gives me a platform and an opportunity while the people gave me this love and respect because I’ve served them with my art for so long. It is the least entertained nation in the world. I believe it needs more entertainment.”
The host, Waqas Saeed, who also has his roots back in Pakistan added, “It does need more entertainment since we haven’t really won the World Cup since 1992! We do need to be entertained as a nation.”
Shaan is more than often labelled as a true ambassador for Pakistani cinema. So, how does he view the resurgence of Lollywood?
“This is what we’ve been dreaming about all our lives… that one day. we will take our films to the world maps. I think we have great markets looking up. So, definitely, it’s a dream come true,” he responded.
“Pakistani cinema isn’t inspired by Hollywood or Bollywood. Obviously, it has the DNA of the same area, but it’s got it’s own flavour.”
“First of all, it was the business proposition for me. India and Pakistan do a lot of trade. So, why not give cultural trade a chance?” said the 021actor. “We give space to Indian films. So I think intellectual elites from both sides should bridge this gap between the countries. If there are people working for war, then there should be people working for peace as well,” stated Shaan.
