VOA常速英语2008年-India, Pakistan Exchange Films For First Time i

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
04 April 2008

A Pakistani film has been released in India for the first time in four decades. At the same time, movies from India's Bollywood industry are also being screened in Pakistan, after being banned there for decades. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi the renewed cultural exchange was made possible by a peace process launched between the once bitter South Asian rivals in 2004.

The widely acclaimed¹ Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) explores the rift² between radical³ and liberal Islam, and has been a hit in Pakistan.

Now the film is being screened across theaters in Indian cities. It is a rare event because intense, political rivalry⁴ has limited cultural interaction between the two countries for decades.

Nadish Bhatia of Percept Picture Company, which is marketing⁵ the film, says he does not know how it will fare at the box office. But he says its screening is a landmark⁶.

"We are more proud to be the first ones to get a Pakistani film to India after 43 years, so for us, that definitely is a bigger high," Bhatia said.

Indian audiences are not the only ones getting to watch a film from across the border after decades.

In Pakistan, several blockbusters produced by the Indian film industry known as Bollywood have been screened in recent months after Islamabad lifted a ban on films shot in India earlier this year. The ban was imposed in 1965 after the rivals fought a war.

But a peace process launched in 2004 has lowered tensions between the neighbors, and prompted Islamabad to allow an exchange of films between the two countries.

Pakistani filmmaker, Shoaib Mansoor, who directed Khuda Kay Liye says the exchange will open new markets to the film industry on both sides. He says it will also help to stem a decline in the Pakistani film industry, which is much smaller than Bollywood.

"More excitement is foreseen in the future. In competition it is always the underdog which benefits more, I am seeing the film industry that is completely down the drain in Pakistan will end up once again on its feet when the Indian films start coming over there. The cinema business will flourish," he said.

Pakistan is no stranger to Bollywood movies. Before the ban, Indian films drew huge crowds in cinema halls. After the ban, illegal video discs, or DVD's, were widely circulated, and private cable television channels beamed the films into homes. Bollywood stars are household names in Pakistan.

India and Pakistan - once a single nation before being partitioned in 1947 - share a common culture.

Now, filmmakers on both sides want to draw on that common culture to establish deeper links. The Pakistani movie Khuda Kay Liye stars an Indian actor, Naseeruddin Shah. Pakistani actors, singers and composers have also been hired by Bollywood filmmakers in recent years.

Filmmaker Mansoor sees the trend intensifying⁷.

"Just take my example. I have received a number of offers to do joint⁸ productions or work for Indian films as writer-director," Mansoor said. " So talent will prevail, whosoever deserves an opportunity will get one."

The South Asian neighbors have made slow progress on tackling their political differences since the peace process was launched. But people on both sides have used the opportunity to put decades of hostility⁹ firmly behind them and reach out to each other.

1 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

2 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

7 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。