Directors from both Pakistan and India are coming together on a common platform for an apolitical exchange to mark the onset of the 70th year of the subcontinent’s Partition.
Punit Goenka, managing director and CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said that Zeal For Unity (ZFU) is initiative to use the strength of creative thought leadership from both countries to bridge the divide between the two, Khaleej Times reported.
He said that after the launch of Zindagi channel which brought Pakistan’s TV content closer to Indians in 2014, Zeal For Unity (ZFU) is the second initiative.
He said it is an initiative to bring people of both countries together and one of the best ways to reach people is through cultural similarities.
From Pakistan, the six directors who have made the films are Mehreen Jabbar, Sabiha Sumar, Khalid Ahmed, Shahbaz Sumar, Siraj Ul Haq and Meenu Farjad. And from India, there are Aparna Sen, Tanuja Chandra, Ketan Mehta, Nikhil Advani, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Bejoy Nambiar.
The 12 films have multifarious stories of various lengths and touch upon different subjects.
“Zindagi was the first step in a direction to bridge the cultural gaps as Indians at large had not seen Pakistani content and the lifestyle of people in Pakistan. Now the second step is to get directors from both nations to stand together and dissolve the boundaries.
ZEEL is in active dialogue with a Pakistani company to partner with them so that the films will get a platform there. Apart from that, the plan is to take the films as part of a festival all over the world, especially to the South Asian diaspora. –APP
