Mumbai, Feb 11: Bollywood-based film producer Asad Sikander returns to his homeland Afghanistan this weekend to showcase his latest movie, the terrorist-themed Bullet, before the country's elite, he said.
The action-adventure flick will premiere on Saturday in Kabul's Ariana Cinema and 14 other theatres across Afghanistan, Sikander said, as Bollywood tries to rekindle a long-dormant relationship with Afghan audiences.
"We have a mega release planned with President Hamid Karzai, cabinet ministers, the stars of the film and delegates from various embassies set to attend the function," he said.
The movie premiered in India a week ago, but heavy snow in Afghanistan scuppered plans for it to open in both countries at the same time.
"The Afghanistan premier was delayed due to the harsh winter and will take place Saturday," the producer said.
Bollywood's ties with Afghanistan are strong, with the first Afghan film, Eshq-o-Dusti (Love and Friendship), being produced in 1946 by the Indian company Huma Films.
The male leads were from Kabul's thriving theatre fraternity but the actresses were from India.
One of the last major Bollywood hits before the hardline Taliban regime took power was the 1992 release Khuda Gawah (God knows), starring Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.
The movie was extensively shot in Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar.
Another adventure-action movie Elaan (Announcement), released first in 1994, was the first movie to be screened after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
A recent Bollywood movie, Escape from Taliban, inspired by a novel called A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife, is the true story of Sushmita Banerjee's horrific experience in Afghanistan and her daring escape from the Taliban in 1995.
Movies and television were banned in under the Taliban regime, who left the 600-seated Ariana cinema -- one of Kabul's most popular entertainment spots until it was ravaged during the 1992-96 civil war - abandoned.
It was rebuilt by the French government at a cost of one million US dollars and reopened in May 2004 sporting a parquet floor, red velvet seats and a state-of-the-ar sound system.
Afghanistan is the third largest overseas market for Bollywood cinema, after Britain and the United States.
"The appetite for Bollywood movies has increased in the years of restriction. Bollywood remains more popular than Hollywood in Afghanistan," said Sikander, an Afghan by birth.
"With the coming of a new liberal government, there are new cinema houses coming up everywhere from Jalalabad to Mazar-i-Sharif."
But trade analysts say Afghanistan still has a long way to go before it will be a priority for Bollywood producers.
"Afghanistan just doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with a steady inflow of Bollywood film, but it is a good market ... the returns on investment should be very good," said Indu Mirani, editor of the trade magazine Box Office.
"Bullet" is set in Bulgaria and centres around the theme of terrorism. The film stars Sikandar, former Indian model Aseem Merchant and Miss Bulgaria Natalie Gurkova.
"What we're trying to say with the film is that terrorism is not created by religion or countries but simply money," Sikandar said.
"Bullet" was directed by Irfan Khan, who has previously created shows for national television in India. The film is being distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Sikandar's next feature is called "Buzkashi", named after Afghanistan's national sport which has teams on horseback aiming to lob a dead goat across the goal line.
Bureau Report
