Shah Rukh wants India and Pakistan to unite

Shah Rukh wants India and Pakistan to unite
Tuesday December 27 2005 16:56 IST



NEW DELHI: Cinema can play an important role in resolving tensions between India and Pakistan, says Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, calling for the industry to be gentler.

In an interview to the BBC World's Asia Today programme, Khan says: "Cinema needs to be more gentle - it can explain to people that we are one world or we live in the same area and we have the same thoughts, same problems and we need to sort them out in a way that is more amicable than politicising an issue."

A statement from BBC World quotes Khan as saying that he has always viewed India and Pakistan as one. He also expresses his desire to see them unite.

"I do wish we could progress socially, economically and religiously together and I would love it to be one country. We would kick everybody's butt in hockey and cricket, I'm sure - if we got together," Khan says in the interview to be telecast Tuesday evening.

He also talks about being a Muslim and shares his experience of being frisked at American airports. He feels it is his duty as a Muslim and as a human being to spread a message to the world that Islam is not a violent religion.

"I think terrorism has no religion, its just point of view - right or wrong. I am sure it's right from their point of view but it's wrong for most of us... what religion they belong to, or what country they belong to, I don't think it's the reason they are doing it."

He's hated by extremist Hindu's in India as a Pakistan sympathiser!

"A statement from BBC World quotes Khan as saying that he has always viewed India and Pakistan as one. He also expresses his desire to see them unite."

Doesnt really have a firm grasp of reality does he?

No he doesnt, he probably thinks he'll come over to Pakistan and break into a qawwali song with Musharaf whereby they will use the competitive nature of the Qawwali to thrash out all the differences and unite as one nation.

How crazy is that!

I mean dont get me wrong if it was Nawaz Sharif in charge then I can see him singing a Qawwali but not Musharraf.

Get a grip Shahrukh!

you didnt expect anything else, did you, mec? ;)

"I mean dont get me wrong if it was Nawaz Sharif in charge then I can see him singing a Qawwali but not Musharraf. "

I think Nawaz was more of a Ghazal guy Merc. ;)


"you didnt expect anything else, did you, mec?"


Well I dont watch Indian films and do not know much about bollywood hence the comment. I did however see a litte bit of a documentary on british TV about this guy and and it was enough for me to guess that Mr.Shah Ruk's hold on sanity is a teneous one, either that or he lives in a dream world such as John Lennon used to sing about.

not the first time i've heard an Indian Muslim suggest the above, using the 'we'd kick everyone's behind' rationale. infact, it was suggested to me once that if Pakistan had not been created, Muslims would have held power in India.

the guy is a dreamer and lives in the clouds

MAybe Bollywood can make a start by stop making movies that ridicule Pakistan and Pakistani's as a evil country and villians. Movies have great influence on people and maybe Bakwaswood should stop with this BS.

They should start by forcing Sunny Deol to retire - what a ****** poor actor

oh come on! Gadar was a good movie!

If you hadnt added that smiley i probably would have believed you actually liked it

gadar was good for a laugh as all indian movies are...one sardar taking on 10 pakistani soldiers...aahahahahaha...regardless, i always get this "we are all one people" bs from indians...just a subtle way of saying that pakistan has no purpose...these idealistic actors live in their own world...no idea of politics and history...

dude, are you indianized or something. gadar was a scene to scene rip off from pakistan movie tere pyare mein.

yeah, whatever....

After selling out on his religion and being involved in an industry which is close to peddling soft porn and also rabidly anti Pakistani, SK suddenly wants to make peacemaker ? Idiot - hate his ilk - pseudo Muslims - just put a Khan on their name to appear different or so that they can marry more than once !

Choro yaar, PP kay thread inn manhooson pay na zaya karo!

you talking to me?...how am i indianized?...anyways, i don't watch pakistani movies...they're more crap than indian ones...

i don't despise sk...i actually quite like him as an actor...and i don't hate for someone's personal beliefs...just this "we are one" bs is really annoying...miggy, i believe his "khan" is legit as opposed to our guju friends pathan and jaheer...sk's dad was from peshawar...

Ok sorry !! Indian movies make my blood boil ! They have caused so much cultural damage to Pakistan - its unbelievable - India can forget the defence budget - all they need to do is to triple their bollywood film production and Pakistan will surrender...

im talking to all those who think gadar is a good film.

How is that Bollywood's fault? there is no point blaming the cause.

OK sorry again... we are to blame for watching this trash ... but it is produced by Bollywood so there is blame to be assigned there..

Indian movies are built for the predominantly Hindu culture.

Therefore things like dancing which has religious undertones, is of no value to us. Also note that whereas the old Indian movies had good Urdu in them due to the Muslim influence of stroty writers, they have now been replaced with some bastardized form of Hinglish which is even more despising.

Miggy i bet you're going to be offered a role in a Bolly film now. I can see you as a villain, with the cuban cigar in your mouth, a gun in your hand, wearing a suit and a black cowboy hat.

actually, i've heard that a lot of youth in pakistan have started to use hindi terms such as "chinta" and many more because of the indian film influence...that is reason enough that indian movies should be banned in pakistan...its a form of cultural imperialism...

Chinta na karo bhaya!!

Maal pohanch gaya hai Boss

Ab sawal hai. Kis ko tum agwa karo ge?

Miggy Bhai yeh kya hai? Itna ghussa?? Never thought I'd see the day! Though I have to say that it would take someone of SRK's zalalat to bring out the worst in anyone!

Buss kiyan batain, Ayubi Mian - yah zamana kharab hai Bhai! but Indian movies ( not all, some of are good pieces of social commentary) do make my blood boil and watching Asian youth, especially Pakistanis flocking to see these at cinemas or discussing lives of these "actors" may give me a stroke one day !

I have a 7 year old nephew in Pak who watches cable....and he speaks Hindi. He doesnt speak Urdu, but Hindi...and uses words that have religious conotations.

He sings all the songs from Bolly films.

Pak will be a cultural F up in 15-20 years time!

True....it's these token chocolate chamchey like SRK who further exacerbate the problem by influencing young Asian Muslims to continue watching their mind-warping filth.
This is the same idiot who years ago said he doesn't believe in the concept of religion. These days he's a Muslim on a God sent mission to resolve Indo-Pak relations! Wake up people & boycott this fool forever!

eeeeek!!! Oxy - send him to Phainti camp immediatley !

..too late for that.

He has been immersed in the Bolly culture since he was born. He genuinely struggles to speak certain Urdu words.

Here, here !

Pak and India unite!

***, he is crazy! The great Jinnah dedicated his entire life on creating a separate muslim country. And this indian idiot wants us to unite. Muslims will never be safe in a country like india where hindu extremists like that saala bal thackeray and kutthay shiv-sena and bjp are present.

PS. Geordie Ahmed was right: Sunny deol is a ***** actor and gadar a ***** film

I think people are taking Shahrukh Khan's statement part on India Pakistan uniting a bit too seriously. I am sure he couldn'y have meant that.

While I am not a big bollywood fan theres a few points to consider regarding the rest of his interview. It is obvious from this and past Shahrukh interviews over the years that he is pro-Pakistan. It's also obvious that his statements was for the intention of trying to get a message and promote India Pak friendship and peace.

When Shahrukh says Indian cinema should be more gentler he most likely means that there should be more peace promoting movies and events through joint productions etc. Shahrukh I have read is against movies like Border, Gaddar, Sarfrosh, LOC which promte hatred towards Pakistan.

He Khan could take the simple option of leaving Bollywood in potest but what would that really acheive? and why should he leave his livelihood? It's better to counter-act such movies with pro-Pakistani movies like Veer Zara, Mai Hon Nah which Shahrukh himself has stared and shows his commitment.

I think Pakistani's and ppers should calm down and not go over the top because of ONE line in shahrukhs interview about India - Pak being one. ....actually he said he personally would love it if the country was one. That's his personal wish which he is entitled to and has been taken out of context a bit.

Shahrukh is right in general that in a lot way we are the same i.e as human's and similar culture, languages etc...which is what he most likely meant about being the same.

Finally some people here say they don't like Shahrukh Khan or Bollywood industry which has had anti-pak sentiments (although there has been pro pak movies too)....but we are much more to blame than them for watching these movies in teh first place. Pakistan has millions of illegal pirate Indian movies in trade. SO we Pakistani's should look at ourselves before blasting Shahrukh Khan.

Regarding Shahrukh Khan's religion well thats between him and Allah and he maybe a lot better than us so called muslims in many ways. Who are we to judge and it's not as if we are all washed with Abeh Zam Zam and perfect.

IF Shahrukh Khan made similar anti-pak statments like AMir Khan did once he would have got just as much blasted by people here..and in Pak. Amir offcourse changed his views in public again and visited Pakistan. His anti pak views were to a magazine dduring Kargil war.

waisay, even if it pains me to say ;)

i agree with miggy on this one

why does it pain you to say.. and what exactly do u agree with miggy on? answer that

All said and done SRK is quite brave to be as Pro Pakistan as he has been thus far.

People like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Zaheer Khan have been cowed by the religious zealots of India far too easily.

SRK is a better man than any of those guys, he has risked his popularity and success by being an Indian Muslim (I'm not gonna judge his piety) whom openly rejects roles in anti-Pakistani movies and expresses a pro Pakistani stance. In fact he has gone out of his way to make pro Pakistani films paying out of his own pocket knowing that in all likelihood they would never do as well as the anti Pakistani movies.

All this in a country where Indian Muslims are too scared to openly cheer for Pakistan for fear of violence against them! The article below explores some of this...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2030055.stm

the alarming effect that bollywood has had on the national conscience of Pakistan

Well I agree with that too but I don't agree with blaming Shahrukh Khan or even Indians for that. The problem is because of us Pakistanis. If you read my pianfully long post above you will understand what I mean..hopefully.

BTW z10 I am still waiting for a little help on some essay for work you were going to help me with..you know what I mean bhai.

Finally someone talking sense on this thread

Gotta say SRK is a good actor - him and the Big B are the only 2 guys who can actually act imo - the rest are rubbish

see i said before that there are plenty (most) of ppers on this thread watch indian movies. Even our geordie lad...and yet we complain about Shahrukh being associated with an industry which has made some anti-pak movies...... (yet we choose to ignore highlighting the few pro pak movies.

I watch a lot of Bollywood movies or i download them but leave them for ages

I agree with z10 and MIG to the extent that Pakistan has an f'ed up culture which is a mixture of west, India and god knows what else but you cant blame west or Indians for that they do not force you to watch their dramas and movies they just make them and there is nothing wrong with watching them but when you watch them and forget about your own values then there is a problem with you yourself not with Indians or West.

i remember bhai

at work right now, ill send to you tonight

Sanjay Dutt is decent as is Akshay Kumar.

I listen and agree with people on this thread and generally about the negative image and affect of Indian movies etc on Pakistani youth and culture. You just need to scroll up above….. and I do agree. Indian TV is to be blamed as much as movies.

However some points:

1. Its more Pakistanis own fault (parents, government, cable operators) and whoever watches these movies themselves.

2. The second more important point is that when our own channels try and get rights of say like cricket e.g. Ary we blast them too (although rightly for there poor coverage). Forget cricket for a moment but most Pakistanis abroad and in Pak seem to prefer Indian channel entertainment much more. India channels initially were quite poor in quality e.g. Zee, Doordarshan but they have improved so much. We Pakistanis don’t give our own a chance really…and even if we do we just moan instead of sending complaints and suggestions for improvements.

3. Are everyone’s views also consistent with English/Western entertainment in tv, music and Hollywood as it is to Indian? BTW Pakistani movies are just as bad as Indian and try and copy the behaya stuff.

Personally I dont watch Bollywood films.

But with these Muslim actors, do they or have they previously been quite 'anti-Islam' or anti-Pak?

Also, are these 'Khans' really Muslims, or just 'stage names'?

Well all these Khans aren't the same but some of them are just as muslim as us because we obviously all don't follow Islam 100% as we should do> We're not perfect but agree some are just stage names. Kader (Qadir) Khan is quite religous I have seen.

bollywood is ruled by 2 actors, srk and salman, none of them have worked in anti pak films ever,

Sanjay Dutt is only good in a gangster role - even then its the role not the acting that shines - similar with Akshay and comedy

Well said..and actually I have been shouting this more in this thread than the other two..who were really criticisng Shahrukh Khan more to begin with.

i dont think its ruled by them!

tho the contrast between the 2 is fascinating, one is very good actor whilst the other is a cr@p actor

OK-forgive my ignorance on this, but Shar Rukh Khan is saying positive things according the supplied links. Why is everyone laying in to him? Or is there some previous history.

And as for being 'anti-Muslim' or 'anti-Pak' ... are you guys referring to their ACTING ROLES or in real life.

If its acting-well, who cares? Its not real!

Paresh Rawal is very good in comedy roles.

I haven't if you read any of my posts here you will know..especially my painfully long first one.

anyway...good to see all the bollywood fans comming out now...lol

Ok - so lets see - pornographic industry should be left as is as its the fault of people who watch it and if we all stop encouraging it, it will die a natural death ? we dont need any regulations to stop prostitution as really, its demand versus supply - people stop demanding it, magically all prostitution will end overnight ? no need for laws.

On the same lines as "its our fault, dont blame them for churning out rubbish" theme, we should all switch off all television etc and hope these movies will go away ...

And on and on....

Its an extreme way to argue my case but I do believe that its my job as a parent to stop my kids ( who are young and impressionable) from watching these movies but I cannot protect them from the media! I cannot fight that battle alone. SRK may be a good Muslim at heart ( altho dancing with semi naked women does stretch that theory just a tad) but he takes part in an industry whose very reason for existence is against all we have been taught to believe - now if you want to question what we have been taught to believe is a different matter...

SRK is just an instrument - a pawn in the hands of the Bollywood giants - he gets his little pieces to feed on and he is fine with that - and I have no grudge against him earning his Millions - but what I do hate is this idea that he is some prophet of peace - for a starter he is in the wrong line of work.

If he is listening:

1. Renounce the anti Pak sentiment movies which are after all anti Muslim ( Pak=Muslim?)
2. See how long he survives in the industry
3. Then talk about peace etc and Islam, if he wants to throw that in for good measure - always sells well

There are people like Sami Yusuf and there are people like SRK - there is an Allah and there is a difference.

I think I have spoken for the last time on this thread - meri tabbayat bekar may kharab hoti hai in cheezon kay peechay!

I heard he was buying an island for his wife for 18 million dollars.

I have nothing against SRK, but I will say this. Fessal you talk about how it is our fault, however this is my dilemma.

These anti-Pakistani movies tarnish our reputation and created hatred towards us AMONGST THE INDIAN POPULATION. This has nothing to do with the internal Pakistan right now. Simply that movies have a great influence on people and alot of Indians carry unnessacary hate towards us because they make movies like LOC which relieve a grim past which neither country should be proud of(War is not something to be proud of). I mean the younger generation won't remember a war 50 years ago, unless it is passed onto them...ala LOC.

My point is that these movies need to stop making us look like we are evil villians, because last time I recalled when India came to Pakistan we display much better hospitality than they did to us on the 2005 tour to there. I know there are Pro-Pakistani films, however, there is not as many as anti-Pakistani and people choose to listen to more of a negative movie like anti pakistani.

Salman bhai rocks at No 1
By: Upala KBR
September 12, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Salman Khan
Salman Khan has never had it so good — The dark days seem to be past, and the actor has signed with two of the industry’s biggest banners — Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai.

And in a move that could make Salman’s good buddy, Shah Rukh Khan, eat his heart out, SRK’s friend and business partner, Aziz Mirza too has approached Salman for his next venture.

Magnificent obsession

While Shah Rukh is touted as the Badshah, and Aamir calls himself the Ikka, Salman never chose to play the numbers game.

According to close friends of his, he doesn’t believe in numbers, but loves the title “Salman The Magnificent”. And going by his track record at the box office in the last three years, he is the undisputed No 1.

Four in a row

Tere Naam, Garv, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Lucky, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya and No Entry have all been superhits, while even a low-budget film like Phir Milenge recovered its money.

The blot on his horizon was Atul Agnihotri’s Dil Ne Jisse Apna Kaha — trade analyst Taran Adarsh attributes this to the fact that there were four consecutive Salman releases that year (2004). “And Salman can’t tell the producer to push the films behind.”

Salman’s new projects

1. Rumi Jaffrey’s next with Priyanka Chopra
2. Subhash Ghai’s next
3. Two films with Yash Raj
4. A special appearance in Sawan Kumar Tak’s next
4. Ravi Chopra’s Babul
5. Priyadarshan’s Kyun Ki with Kareena Kapoor

upala@mid-day.com

Film industry speaks

Yash Raj Films will have “Salman doing not just one, but two films — one to be directed by Aditya (Chopra), and the other to be produced under their banner and directed by Shimit Amin (who directed Ab Tak Chappan),” reveals a source at Yash Raj.

Says another source close to Aziz Mirza, “Yes, we have approached him and are working out the details. God willing, if he agrees, we will do a film with him. Salman is a man who thinks from the heart; he is a wonderful human being.”

Boney Kapoor, the producer of No Entry says, “For me, Salman is definitely the No 1 star in the industry today. His family and he are wonderful people, and commercially, he’s very big.” His film has grossed over R s42 crore in India and overseas.

The distributor for central India, Sheikh Aslam says, “People are coming to see the film because of Salman, even though he is not there too much. Nobody comes to see Fardeen Khan or Anil Kapoor. And the negative media reports have never harmed Salman’s box office record. The more people write about him, the more audiences love him.
When he comes on screen, people stand up on the chairs and clap.” Aslam prefers only Salman’s films, as “he is the only hero who sells in all the three centres — A class, B class and C class. Aamir and Shah Rukh sell only at the A class centres.”

Says the distributor of Rajasthan, Yunus Khan, “Every time a film of his releases, his fans take out jalooses in his name, with his pictures and posters. From the youngsters to the girls, ladies and the family crowd, everyone loves Salman. He has a very clean image here.” He adds that No Entry collections in Rajasthan have broken all records, even surpassing those of Veer Zaara.

Subhash Ghai doesn’t deny having approached Salman, but adds, “I have not signed any star yet for my film. I am working on my script. The film will have three big stars and will start next year.

“The more I meet Salman, the more I like him. He comes across as a big boy with a child’s heart, someone who is yet to grow up. He is a highly emotional person, brought up under the highly protected roof of a united family. He is a family man and a good human being. You can see his charisma on screen growing year by year.”

Says Bhushan Kumar, managing director, Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., “Salman is one of the mega stars of the Hindi film industry, who the youth adore as an idol. I have a great equation with him and find him very professional. He is a very loving and caring person who has always been misunderstood. He does a lot of charity, but does not publicise it.

He is a brilliant actor and has the capacity to draw house-full audiences and get very good initials for his films. It was wonderful to work with him in Lucky… No Time For Love. Yes, we will definitely work together in the future.”

Concludes trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “Salman is No 1 in certain pockets. This year, he is back with a bang! He is definitely No 1 amongst the masses, while Shah Rukh is among the multiplex audience and overseas.

Salman’s problem is his heart rules his head. If he concentrated on his career like Shah Rukh and Aamir, he would be No 1 everywhere.”

Sajid Nadiadwala, who has worked with Salman over the last 10 years and has cast him in his next, Janeman (directed by Shirish Kunder) says, “I have done Jeet, Judwaa, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega and Mujhse Shaadi karogi with him.

Of these, the first three ran for three weeks and the last for 60 weeks. People connect to him and his face. Salman, his dad, Salim uncle, Salma aunty and his entire family do al lot of charity work. Strangely, Salman doesn’t expect anything from his friends.”


http://ww1.mid-day.com/hitlist/2005...mber/118462.htm

...must be true then

Suhaib what was the point of that long article which i cant be bothered to read?

Well to be fair to Shahrukh he has been speaking out against anti-Pak films his whole career. I remember he was once quoted as saying...

"Shah Rukh Khan, a Bollywood superstar, says: "The anti-Pakistani cinema we have made is not national. It's not patriotic to belittle anyone. Entertainers shouldn't contribute to this." Khan's own production, "Main Hoon Na" (I Am There), the year's biggest hit so far, aggressively promoted peace -- the bad guy was 100% Indian."

He took the extremely brave step (as an Indian Muslim) of admitting that he supported the Pakistan team and that he was a huge fan of Imran Khan. The story was posted here on PP about how when he asked Imran Khan for an autograph after a match (before he was famous), Immy raised his bat as if to hit him and ushered him away!

I'm not sure what else he has to do!

I totally agree with you.

There is too much unjustified hatred amongst Indians towards Pakistani's and its mainly due to their media's brainwashing!

The way we treated the Indians in 2004 compared to the way they treated us in 2005 is a case in point. Pakistan doesnt have a grudge to bear. We even happily watch their films and TV channels whilst many Indians refuse to pay money to any Pakistani channel to watch cricket for no reason other than the fact that is is a Pakistani channel.

The problem with India and Indians is that they cant accept responsibility for their own problems, everything has to be someone else's fault.

Straight after the earthquake in Pakistan when all that was on Pakistan and Pakistani's minds was digging people out of the rubble, some bombs went off in India. Guess who they blamed?

Yes they blamed Pakistan and made a big deal out of how they had given us some money and now we were repaying them like this. This is how messed up they are, they genuinely believe that with the majority of our army tied up in relief efforts we were planning attacks against India!

I mean they even blame the Sikh independence movement on Pakistan and ignore the relevance of the events of Delhi 1984 where Sikhs were dragged from their houses and slaughtered. Their women were raped their temples defiled and their men massacred but this is ignored as a motivating factor!

No way could the Sikhs have been upset about that, after all they are loyal Indians and they must understand that such things happen from time to time.

Sikh terrorism is entirely the fault of Pakistan and the ISI.

The mentality in India is if someone falls over in the street its coz of Pakistan!!

I'm glad we are a lot more sensible than that.

...actually my wife tells me that the 'nasty villans' cast in Bolly movies are usually Muslim.

But she still watches them, so what can I say?

if they were hindus, who would watch the films in india.

It has nothing to do with them being muslims its to do with your style of acting and your looks.

Amjad Khan as Gubbar Singh for example

is shah rukh the guy who cries like a woman and dances like a gay?

I wasnt clear.

WHat I mean is that the 'baddie' is always called 'Pushto Khan' or 'something similar!

Forget SRKKK, looks to me that Chairman Mao is evolving... Oxy - your family know about this ?

Havent noticed if he dances like a gay, but he definetely cries like a woman, and crying scenes in his movies are increasing in frequency

The actors do that too I thought it was only the cricketers!

Merc - ya made me puke eooooeeeooohhhh!! @ that pic

what's wrong with it then MIG?

Just two cricketers posing for a pic, although the camera's seem to be the last thing on their minds!!

he laughs, then he cries, then he laughs some more, then he cries again, then depending on how the director wants the movie to end, he laughs or cries.

my fave indian actor


amish puri