Imran’s victory good for Pakistan, film stars say
Stars of multi-starrer comedy film Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 visit Gulf News office
While the stars of Pakistani comedy Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 unanimously agreed yesterday that former cricket captain Imran Khan’s rise as their prime minister was a good sign, they adopted a pragmatic approach about whether his leadership would have an immediate impact on the film industry, which is undergoing a robust revival.
“There are several issues that need to be looked at before he solves the problems affecting our movie industry … Issues like providing great education to children, health issues and even provision of free education like how it’s done in developed countries will be his priority and that’s the right way to go,” said Humayun Saeed in Urdu in an interview as he visited the Gulf News office yesterday evening. Saeed was accompanied by his co-stars Fahad Mustafa, Mawra Hocane, Kubra Khan, Ahmed Ali Butt and Vasay Chaudhry, from JPNA 2 as they toured Dubai to promote their latest film.
“I don’t think we are the kind of artists who would go up and start screaming slogans that artists should now have more rights … He has a lot of responsibilities to fulfil before he gets to us,” said Saeed.
It was clear that the team were ardent supporters of the charismatic leader, as they broke into an impromptu clap expressing their joy at the recent election verdict which saw the former cricket captain become their country’s PM.
“It’s definitely good for us and is a great sign,” said Hocane, while others nodded in unison. During the voting, Hocane who has more than 2.8 million followers on Instagram and 1.4 million Twitter followers, also implored her fans to go out and vote for their future leader.
Politics wasn’t the only subject that was discussed animatedly during their visit to the Gulf News newsroom. They also spoke at length about working in a multi-starrer without any egos at play and toning down the raunchiness in JPNA 2, as the first instalment had come under fire for featuring women dancing in bikinis in Bangkok.
“The only clause in our contracts was that we are all covered and that even Fahad doesn’t remove his shirt,” said Chaudhry with a laugh.
JPNA 2 is one of the most anticipated Pakistani films this Eid as its 2014 original had set the box office on fire with its ribald humour about a bunch of men who head to Bangkok to escape their nagging partners. The flashy sequel, which has retained a majority of its major players including Saeed and Butt, is similar in tone and sticks to the theme of friendship, bromance, bonding, finding love and being forced to grow up.
Pakistani prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan called for more “trustworthy” ties with the US, which have frayed amid US accusations that Pakistan is aiding Islamist insurgents waging war in Afghanistan, something Islamabad denies.
Khan, who is due to be sworn-in as premier next week after his July 25 election victory, met acting US Ambassador to Pakistan John F. Hoover on Wednesday and said the ups and downs in relations had led to a “trust deficit”.
Washington has suspended aid and military assistance to Pakistan.
“(My party) wants to build a relationship with United States based on trust and mutual respect and hence our government will engage with US to make this relationship more balanced and trustworthy,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement late on Wednesday, attributing comments to Khan.
Khan added that there was a need to “transform” the diplomatic ties between the two countries. The US. Embassy in Pakistan has not commented on the meeting.
In January, US President Donald Trump further strained relations with a withering attack on Pakistan on Twitter, accusing Pakistan of playing a “double game” on fighting terrorism and vowing a tougher approach.
In the same tweet he said the US has been rewarded with “nothing but lies and deceit” for “foolishly” giving Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid in the past 15 years.
Last week, the US angered Islamabad by raising the prospect of opposing any future International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout for Pakistan, which its economy badly needs, due to concerns the money would go towards paying off Chinese loans.
The US is wary of the closer ties between Pakistan and China, which have deepened in recent years on the back of Beijing’s pledge to fund $57 billion in infrastructure as part of its vast Belt and Road initiative.
Khan’s party said the former cricketer also discussed Afghanistan with the US envoy, stressing that a political solution was needed rather than more fighting.
“Stability in Afghanistan, he said, is (in) the larger interests of Pakistan, America and the region and hence should be earned through viable political engagements,” said Khan, according to the PTI statement.