Film industry bigwigs support Akbar Khan

With "Taj Mahal - An Eternal Love Story" being cleared as the first Indian film in 41 years to be released in Pakistan, film-maker Akbar Khan sees a new beginning for India-Pakistan ties.

An industry meet called by Akbar to hail the occasion saw industry bigwigs pledging their full support for him. The participants included Mahesh Bhatt, Shyam Shroff, Pahlaj Nihalani, Ratan Jain, Vikas Mohan, Sanjay Khan, Shashi Ranjan and Aditya Bhattacharya.

Akbar said: "We need to look at the bigger picture of friendship between the two countries, rather than whether 'Veer Zaara' or 'Taj Mahal' would be the first to be released in Pakistan.

"This is not about who is a bigger name, it is about spreading love. It would be a tragedy if I have a divided home and seek our industry to promote friendship with the industry of Pakistan."

Islamabad seems to have unofficially chosen him as an ambassador of the film industry to boost India-Pakistan ties. Last week a 20-member delegation from Pakistan visited Akbar's residence in Mumbai to discuss various aspects of the film market in their country.

Akbar, along with his Pakistan-based distributor Satish Anand of Eveready Pictures, is now drawing up an elaborate strategy for the film's distribution in Pakistan.

He said the film was being released with 25 prints to start with, considering the acute shortage of Dolby theatres in Pakistan.

The theatrical promos of the film have already started playing in Pakistan and, according to Akbar, have generated considerable pre-release curiosity for the April 28 release.

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Taj Mahal