Mumbai, Dec 4: On February 19,1999, Bollywood star Dev Anand was among the group of celebrities who accompanied the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the historic bus trip to Lahore.
On return from Lahore, Kargil happened. Dev Anand recalled his Lahore bus trip: “I went back to Pakistan after 55 years. I had left Lahore in
1943 at the age of 19, taken the Frontier Mail and come to Mumbai. In Lahore, on a Sunday morning I visited my old college, Government College.
“I saw the same room of my principal, Mr. Dickinson.
“There were young 19 year old boys who came up to me and said that there should not be an Indo- Pak conflict. Our culture, faith, language are all the same.
“We went to a restaurant after that and an educated man about 50 playing the flute, came to my table with a couple of musicians. He was playing a song from Taxi Driver.
“He asked me to name any film of mine and he would play the song.
“Offhand I mentioned a song from Prem Pujari..shokhion mein ghola jaaye, and he played it. Pakistani young girls with their mothers came and met me at my hotel. Old friends called me to their house for dinner.
“I had belonged there as a collegian…I want to make a movie before I quit where both countries can participate.
“The situation has deteriorated now, but anything is possible. When Pakistan was formed, we laughed at that time - Lahore and Bombay are one, how can this be - but it happened.
“So who knows, as long as there are humans in this world, miracles are possible.
“Three years ago who knew the Internet would be such a big thing.”
