Of politics and kissing on screen!

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span><br /><img src="/photo/1039956.cms" alt="/photo/1039956.cms" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Pakistani actress Meera on the ''politics'' of her kiss in Nazar</span></div> <div class="Normal"><br />They will lose me if I don''t go back to Pakistan.Everyone knows I''m the best actress there. They should be proud of me. If they don''t want me back, it''s their choice. I''m not going to leave India and my work. Why should I run away? I love India, I''m an artiste, my work is my worship. I''m not doing anything sleazy or dirty. I''m just acting, it''s my rozi-roti.<br /><br />I''ve written to the Pakistani PM, requesting protection when I visit my country. My parents are getting threats. There are people who don''t want actresses from Pakistan to work here. They belong to the conservative school of thought. Imagine, a kiss can make me lose contact with my country. Sad!<br /><br />It''s now a big political issue. I request Shah Rukh Khan to plead with the people of my country and urge them to be positive. He is respected there, they will listen to him. The kiss is an excuse, it was just a peck. And the film hasn''t even been released. So, why is there a controversy? Has anyone seen ''the kiss'' yet?<br /><br />My parents are telling me not to come to Pakistan, as it''s not very safe for me. My country should be proud of me, I''ve come as an ambassador of peace. Officially, I''ve had a favourable reaction, the Pakistani cultural minister Shaikh Rashid, on behalf of the government, declared on TV that they had no problem with me working here in India. The real big issue in Pakistan is that they feel I''ve violated the tehzeeb, but the artiste knows no boundaries.<br /><br />We are not scared. Some people came to my house and threatened us. I asked them, yeh toofan kyon khada kiya hai... They went away. I don''t know who they were... People tell me I should call my daughter back, else they won''t let her come back. I guess people are trying to make this a political issue. I''m a father, shouldn''t I be more concerned about my daughter''s izzat? She hasn''t done anything un-islamic. Meera has dreams and wants to fulfil them. She belongs to the new generation which has extended a warm hand of friendship towards India. She''s a professional and wants to act. Anything wrong? Should she be punished?<br /><br />Things are sensitive here. I''ve asked her not to come back for a while. She''s a girl and I don''t want any trouble. We are a conservative country. Some fundamentalists dislike anyone who doesn''t conform. What''s wrong with a kiss? Yeh sab ek drama hai.<br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"></div> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">''Meera should fight for Kashmir too''</span></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Sayed Munawar Hasan, Secy of Jamaat-e-Islami, spearheading the movement against Meera in Karachi, on the ''ideology'' of Meera''s kiss.</span><br /><br />Yeh mudda kiss ka nahin hai... Everything is a political issue. Why is India trying to confuse the Kashmir issue? Why should there be a cricket match in Ahmedabad? Why is Meera in Bollywood? Why is she not fighting like us for the Kashmiris'' freedom and human rights? Doesn''t Meera know and understand the tehzeeb of her culture? India and Pakistan are two different countries, two cultures. We have different definitions of shame, respect; different boundaries for our women; different ideologies. According to us, Meera should not be in Bollywood. The kiss is not the issue here. Kashmir, cricket or a kiss... there is a political angle to everything.<br /></div> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">''Yes, I manipulate the media but...''</span></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Mahesh Bhatt, the maker of Nazar, on the ''commerce'' of the kiss</span><br /><br />To grab the spotlight, I use fair means, and foul means if necessary. I''d be flattered if I could fool the media and generate controversy to sell my film. But why would I be interested in planting a story about a kiss in a film that is in the post-production stages? Also, Nazar isnt Murder; talking about a peck in the film will work against me.<br /></div> </div>