Actor Feroz Khan (right) with son Fardeen and daughter-in-law Natasha (centre) in Lahore. Telegraph picture

Lahore, April 28: General Zia-ul Haq had earned Indian filmdom’s gratitude by clearing the public screening of Pradeep Kumar’s Noor Jehan in the early 1980s.

General Pervez Musharraf has repeated the gesture with Taj Mahal, and a string of Bollywood stars have converged in Pakistan on the occasion, heaping praise on the President and his government.

The film, which premiered at Lahore’s Plaza Cinema on Wednesday, is all over the media. Private TV channels and the print media have devoted extra time and space to previews, drafting Pakistani and Indian stars to discuss the story behind the world’s most famous monument to love ? the Taj Mahal ? that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

That the female lead is played by a Pakistani ? Sonia Jehan, granddaughter of legendary singer Noor Jehan ? has helped.

The premiere was attended by about a dozen Bollywood stars ? such as director Akbar Khan, his brother Feroz Khan and nephew Fardeen Khan, Kabir Bedi and Manisha Koirala ? and, of course, Sonia Jehan.

“The relations between the two countries have grown stronger and we hope the screening of Taj Mahal will further the dialogue process,” Indian culture minister Ambika Soni, who is heading a 38-member Bollywood delegation to Pakistan, told the media after the premiere. Since the 1965 war, Indian films and music have been banned in Pakistan.

“It’s a great start towards a long journey of love and friendship,” Feroz Khan said while praising Musharraf, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his predecessor A.B. Vajpayee for their peace efforts.

Bedi made no secret of his excitement at being able to travel to Lahore. “It is a historic moment and I am thankful to the people and the government of Pakistan.” Koirala appealed to the public to watch the movie.

A special invitation has been sent to Musharraf and his wife Sehba Pervez for the Islamabad premiere, but the real test for the film begins on Friday when the general public will have the chance to judge its merits.

Noor Jehan had been screened against a limited and special permission but there is no time bar for Taj Mahal which, in the first phase, will be shown in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

Cashing in on the situation, distributors are also re-screening the colour version of Mughal-e-Azam, the 1960s classic starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, at Lahore’s Gulistan cinema. The reproduced film premiered in Lahore on Sunday.

“This is the age of rock and jazz, so it’s very difficult to say what kind of interest the film will evoke,” said Shahid Malik, a Lahore resident.