Adnan Faruqi
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Pakistani people loves Indian films, serials and food
'Rockstar' is doing well in Pakistan, and 'Bigg Boss' is all over the place. Anahita Mukherji reports from Karachi on how for many in that country India is already the Most Favoured Nation
India may never have invaded Pakistan, but there's no doubt that Bollywood and Hindi soap operas have virtually conquered the Pakistani market.
In Karachi, for instance, it's near-impossible to find a Pakistani who doesn't have strong views on the K-serials , or hasn't picked a favourite Khan from amongst Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman.
While Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar is playing across theatres in Karachi, giant hoardings of Indian reality TV shows like Bigg Boss tower over Pakistan's financial capital. A couple of years ago, Ghajini haircuts were in vogue, too.
And the likes of Balika Vadhu and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain have sent TRPs soaring across Pakistan. For many Pakistanis, India is already their 'Most Favoured Nation' .
The editor of a widely read English daily in Pakistan calls himself a victim of Hindi serials. Every night, at precisely the busiest hour for any newspaper, his chief reporter would disappear.
"I was furious and kept asking him where he had been. It took me a while to discover that he would go home each day to watch Hindi serials.
When I asked him why he didn't watch the replay the next morning, he said he did that, too," he laughs.
Weddings are often postponed till late in the evening to avoid clashing with prime-time Hindi soap operas.
"Pakistani women are so deeply influenced by the clothes and jewellery worn in Hindi soaps that they want the same for their own weddings," says Gulbadan Javed, a social activist from Hyderabad (Sindh). Javed's children and mother-in-law religiously watch Star Plus at 8pm each night. Rozina Jonejo, also from Hyderabad, says her mother-in-law enjoys watching Hindi serials although she does not understand the language. "She asks her daughter to translate the serial for her. She often asks us why the saas in a particular serial is scolding the bahu," says Rozina.
It should come as little surprise, then, that Hindi words have crept into Pakistani vocabulary . Rozina is amused that her young son, an avid viewer of Hindi serials, has picked up words like 'namaste' and 'maharani'.
Ikram Mughal from Karachi was surprised to hear his daughter say "Papa aap chinta mat keejiye," with the word 'chinta' replacing 'fikr', the more common Urdu word for worry. Mughal himself is a staff reporter for Super Star Dust, a popular Urdu magazine on Bollywood. A picture of John Abraham is splashed across the cover of a recent issue.
Bollywood trivia is as popular in Pakistan as in India, with many keeping tabs on the lives and loves of the filmstars. "Out here, Aamir Khan is known as the 'chocolati hero' , while Salman is known to have affairs with many women and then leave them," says a young man.
While the average Indian may not know of Shah Rukh Khan's Pathan origins, a number of Pakistanis are mighty proud of it. Karachi resident Izzat Khan, an ardent SRK fan, recalls that during a job stint in Malaysia, he was often asked if he was related to King Khan, with whom he shares a surname. "I would tell them he is from my neighbourhood, as he comes from the same province," says the proud Pathan.
But Shah Rukh is not the only hero worshipped in Pakistan.
A bunch of young women in Karachi wanted this correspondent to "give Salman Khan a hug" on their behalf. Meanwhile , Maqsooda Solangi, a social activist with the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, is a diehard member of the Aamir camp, for she likes his socially relevant brand of cinema. And while Madhuri Dixit may have a tough time re-entering Bollywood, for Izzat Khan, no actress in recent times can match the beauty and grace of the Dhak Dhak girl.
That Bollywood and soaps have shaped the popular Pakistani perception of India may have much to do with how favourably the ordinary Pakistani views Indians. Visitors to Pakistan are known to be overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality shown by their hosts. Immigration officers get particularly chatty when they see an Indian passport. An official at the Karachi airport took one look at the surname on this correspondent passport and wanted to know if there was any connection with Rani Mukherji,whom he admired greatly.
The mehmaan-nawaazi is visible on the streets of Karachi, where even posh, branded shops give big discounts to Indians. A chaat-stall owner at Sadar Bazaar insisted on providing free soft drinks to a bunch of young women when he learnt they were Indians. Like many Sindhis in India who yearn for their homeland, the chaatwallah longed to visit his homeland in Gujarat, where his family lived before Partition.
DOSA MIX
India's influence on Pakistani culture extends beyond cinema and soaps. Take the humble dosa, which has travelled a long way from its home in South India to the restaurants of Sindh, which serve the Chicken Cheese Dosa and Qeema (Keema ) Dosa.
While a Hindu name coupled with a Muslim surname would suggest mixed parentage in India, names such as Sharmila, Sapna and even Sudharak are very popular amongst Muslims in Pakistan.
Indian literature, including books on Madhubala and A R Rahman, line the walls of bookshops ; at many clothes shops in Karachi, shopkeepers are heard bragging about material that has been imported from India.
Serial Lovers - The Times of India
