By: Jam Sajjad Hussain

LAHORE – Virsa, the first Punjabi film, co-produced by India and Pakistan has utterly failed to attract viewers in Pakistani cinemas.

The fact has now been realised by the exponents of co-production that Pakistanis would only give the cold shoulder to Pak/Indian joint film venture. This shows how Pakistanis feel about Indians and their products because of the Indian hostility towards Pakistan, the country created on the basis of Two-Nation Theory.

Indians are known in the line of film production, but surprisingly Virsa has turned out to be a box-office flop even in Indian market.

“The movie was screened last month in some 110 cinema houses around the world including the US, UK, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Australia, India and Pakistan, but it could not get the desired response,” a source close to Jawad Ahmad said.

The film has been displayed in 17 Pakistani cinemas, but the viewers seem more interested in English movies instead of wasting their time in the co-produced flick.

It is also learnt that at least 110 prints of the movie were released worldwide including 35 prints in India and 17 in Pakistan.

Insiders said that Virsa cost Rs70 million and was shot extensively in Australia.

The cast of the movie is from Pakistan, India and Australia. Noman Ijaz and Mehreen Raheel (Pakistan) have played key roles while Arya Babbar, son of Indian actor Raj Babbar, also has played leading role in the flick. Singers Jawad Ahmad, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Farah from Pakistan while Richa Sharma and Krishna of India have been featured on the soundtracks.

The word ‘Virsa’ itself signifies the theme of the film. Virsa, jointly produced by Pakistani singer Jawad Ahmad, Pankaj Batra and Vikram Kakar focuses on love and cultural values. Story revolves around Nawaz Ali (Noman Ejaz) and Ranvir Singh Grewal (Kanwaljeet Singh) and their families.
Source: The Nation
Date:5/10/2010