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Awarapan defies fatwa by Lal Masjid

The film, which stars Indian actors with hit Pakistani songs, is jointly been produced by Pakistani producer Sohyl Khan and Mahesh Bhatt and is directed by Muhit Suri.

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LAHORE: Feeling encouraged by the fall from grace of the Lal Masjid’s infamous cleric brothers, a Pakistani producer has finally released the first ever Bollywood-Lollywood joint production, Awarapan, against which the so-called Red Mosque Shariat Court had already issued a fatwa prohibiting it from screening anywhere in Pakistan.

The movie, which has already been released in India on June 29, was formally released in 15 Pakistani cinemas on July 6.

The film, which stars Indian actors with hit Pakistani songs, is jointly been produced by Pakistani producer Sohyl Khan and Mahesh Bhatt and is directed by Muhit Suri.

The total cost of the film, which has been shot mostly in Bangkok, Moscow, Hong Kong and Pakistan comes around 180 million, the highest ever in the history of Pakistan.

The release of the movie was under a cloud initially after the administrator of the Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi decreed that the movie will hurt the feelings of Pakistanis since it  depicts love scenes between a Hindu boy (Emran Hashmi) and a Pakistani girl (Mrinalini Sharma). Another reason for the issuance of a fatwa  was the presence of ‘infidels’ in the movie.

Pakistani film circles were abuzz with  rumours that some producers and directors who are against the idea of Indian and Pakistani joint film productions were the ones who goaded on the clerics of the Masjid to take on the movie. They had threatened anyone releasing the film with ‘dire consequences’.

With the arrest of burqa-clad leader of the Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Aziz  and the self-proclaimed Qazi of the Shariat Court Maulana Rasheed Ghazi about to surrender, the Pakistani producer arranged the premiere of the film on Thursday at the Empire cinema in Lahore attracting many known faces of the glitterati from both countries’ film industries.

The excited audience loved the action packed movie that revolves around ideals of faith and romance. Awarapan, though has no Pakistani actors in its cast, yet the songs sung by Mustafa Zahid Suzan, Ustad Rafaqat Ali Khan and Annie were an instant hit with the audiences. “I hope it will prove to be a sure hit in Pakistan as much as it has been in India,” said an excited Sohail Khan.

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