This one wouldn’t ideally apply to Pakistan but then it is a story that should bring cheer to Bollywood aficionados. Pakistan, which has been going hammer and tong banning the screening of Hindi films and airing of Indian content on their televisions, does not seem to get enough of Bollywood.
If you think this was a statement made out of nationalistic fervour, hear this out.
As tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, a dialogue from a Hindi film lightened the mood in the Pakistan National Assembly, an equivalent to the Indian Parliament.
The members of the assembly, who were discussing a serious issue on Thursday, burst into peels of laughter when a member mouthed a dialogue from superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s movie ‘Dilwale’.
The incident occurred during a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges on Thursday.
In the middle of the session, Salman Baloch, a Member of National Assembly (MNA) from Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), alleged that the general manager of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) had misbehaved and threatened him on being told to reinstate an expelled employee.
Baloch had reportedly asked the GM of Human resources, KPT, to reinstate the ex-employee Danish. Danish was removed because there was a case against him in progress in the Anti-terrorism court. The Chairman of KPT clarified that till Danish gets a security clearance, he cannot be given his job back, local reports said.
Baloch claimed that the GM threatened him over the phone, though the latter vouched of not having resorted to any such thing.
Amidst these allegations and counter-allegations, MQM’s committee member Mohammad Ali Rashid recited Shah Rukh Khan’s dialogue from the 2015 release ‘Dilwale’, to drive home a point. He said, “Hum shareef kya hue, poori dunya hi badmash hogayi.”
The dialogue by Rashid left the entire house in splits for its undertones and to understand this, one needs to go a little into history to understand the ways and dealings of the MQM.
The MQM has historically wielded immense influence in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi. Known to mobilize huge crowds and gatherings at its protest rallies in Karachi, the MQM has often been accused of resorting to violence and nefarious activities, especially when it came to conflicts with political opponents.
In the mid-nineties, the MQM was accused of spreading political violence that affected, most of all, Karachi. The party has also been dubbed as terrorists and fascists for its violent and personality driven ways.
It was this history of the political party, which by the way is the fourth largest political force in the country today, that signified the sarcasm in Rashid’s comment. The fact that an MQM leader was being threatened in the city of Karachi was what got the assembly reeling in laughter. The undertone they probably missed was the veiled threat he issued by mouthing those lines.
For Pakistan, that may be the new normal. For Indians, be rest assured that no matter how many bans Pakistan may impose, it can never get Bollywood out of its heart.
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