Shaan Shahid’s upcoming film Arth – The Destination has been gaining a lot of momentum as the cast actively promotes the film. The film which is an adaptation of Mahesh Bhatt’s 1982 classic film, Arth has garnered a lot of attention considering that Shaan vehemently opposes the cross-border exchange.
In a recent interview with BBC Asian Network, Shaan shed light on why he chose to remake this film and Lollywood as a whole.
Talking about celebrating Pakistani cinema on the world stage, Shaan said, “Well, I love it! Pakistan gives me a platform and an opportunity while the people gave me this love and respect because I’ve served them with my art for so long. It is the least entertained nation in the world. I believe it needs more entertainment.”
“This is what we’ve been dreaming about all our lives… that one day we will take our films to the world maps. I think we have great markets looking up. So, definitely, it’s a dream come true,” he responded. “Pakistani cinema isn’t inspired by Hollywood or Bollywood. Obviously, it has the DNA of the same area, but it’s got its own flavour.”
The interviewer, Waqas Saeed, who traces his roots back to Pakistan remarked, “It does need more entertainment since we haven’t really won the World Cup since 1992! We do need to be entertained as a nation.”
Speaking on why he decided to choose Arth as his project, he said, “First of all, it was the business proposition for me. India and Pakistan do a lot of trade otherwise; so it is time to give cultural trade a chance. We give space to Indian films. So I think intellectual elites from both sides should bridge this gap between the countries. If there are people working for war, then there should be people working for peace as well.”
“I would urge the Indian community to come and support the cause of Pakistani and Indian friendship. So, show your heart out and come and watch Arth. It’s an Indian-Pakistani movie. It’s been quite some time since we’ve been united.”
Mahesh Bhatt has applauded the team of Arth2 on several occasions and Shaan said he feels honoured. “The kind words coming from Mahesh Ji were amazing. He was kind enough. When I offered him money for the rights of the film, he refused saying, ‘I want this movie to be the first Pakistani and Indian collaboration. If you’re making it Shaan, then I’m not going to charge you anything.”
Shaan requested everyone to go and watch the film saying, “For starters, it’s my comeback after four or five years. And it’s not an action movie. I’ve been often labelled as an action hero but I started out as a romantic hero,” Shaan said.
“I think it’s high time I do a romantic film. Arth is a lot of fun to watch and there are a lot of messages in it,” said the actor.
Arth – The Destination is slated to release on December 21 and also starres Humaima Malick, Mohib Mirza and Uzma Hassan in titular roles.