Happy Bhal Jaygi

More importantly, in the sickening, politicised times we live in, popular entertainment, such as this film — about fun and funny people across the border — is possibly the only humanising anti-dote we have against mass-scale bigotry and hatred against Pakistan on Indian social media and national news-hours (if you know what I mean). Bollywood is more of a unifying factor between the two countries than we give it credit for.

This is a Bombay film set almost wholly in Lahore. There’s much humour to be shared on the quirks of Urdu (there’s Piyush Mishra for that here), and general madness about Indians and Pakistanis being same-same but different.

The main man Bilal (Abhay Deol) in this movie is the scion of an influential, Pakistani political family. Deol, almost always nattily dressed in jackets and Pathani suits, could probably pass off for a Pak gent (I wouldn’t know for sure). His girlfriend in the movie, though (Momal Sheikh), also ostensibly from the Pakistani upper crust, is casting gem for the part.