Sing a song and go to Sing Sing. Or the Pakistani equivalent of it. That seems to be the case with Reema, the reigning queen of Lollywood, Bollywoods across-the-border counterpart.
Reema faces trial in a treason case for singing "Dil dil Pakistan, Jaan jaan Hindustan" (Pakistan is my heart and India is my life) as a guest on Zee TVs musical programme Antakshari. And that too, at a time when relations between the two countries had hit a new low. If convicted, Reema-known for her sexy roles in Pakistani films-could face a jail term or even death.
But the actress remains unfazed. "There is nothing that they can go on," she says dismissively. "Of course, I will. I am a Pathan girl and am not cowed down when I know I have done nothing wrong," she retorts when asked whether she would again appear on an Indian TV programme.
But "traitor" is the word the Pakistani media immediately employed to describe the countrys leading actress. Reema has been denying the charge all along, describing it as a grand conspiracy to ruin her career. Not all agree. "While in India, these artistes tend to say things against the two-nation theory," editorialised the conservative newspaper, Nawa-i-Waqt.
A private citizen filed the charge after she sang the song at a musical programme recorded in New York last year. It was an altered version of a song entitled Dil dil Pakistan, Jaan jaan Pakistan, sung by Junoon, a Pakistani pop group, several years ago.
What got complainant Ameer Hussain Hashmis goat was that Reemas version was aired by Zee, an Indian channel, at a time when tensions between the two nations were peaking in the wake of the Christmas-eve hijacking of an Indian airliner. Apart from Reema, Hashmi-a self-claimed social worker from Lahore-has named actress Atiqa Adho and singer Sajjad Ali. He has accused them of violating the sanctity of the country by singing a song that favoured India, the "enemy" country. The complainant based his case on a report in an Urdu paper. While filing the case, the complainant had presumed that the showbiz personalities had sung the objectionable song in Antakshari.
The Antakshari episode, recorded for the new millennium, was perhaps the most eagerly awaited Zee TV telecast in Pakistan. But it did not include the controversial song. This, however, could not end the controversy. The next day, papers reported in detail how Reema, through a billionaire friend in Dubai, succeeded in getting the song that could have ended her career edited out.
"How naive it is to believe that I managed to get the song erased. I cant get a song included or omitted at PTV, much less Zee TV," says Reema. She adds: "Just think: can an Indian actor or singer sing "Phir bhi dil hai Pakistani" in a Pakistani programme and expect to go back to his/her country in one piece? No, we showbiz people are not so cut off from reality."
The other co-accused, Sajjad Ali and Atiqa, also deny improvising the song. "Pakistani artistes visiting India or appearing in an Indian programme know fully well that every word they say and every move they make is being watched closely back at home. So, theyre overcautious. Especially after Junoon was banned on PTV a couple of years back for condemning borders between India and Pakistan," Ali told Outlook.
For the whole duration of the proceedings of the case, Atiqa has stayed away from the hearings as she is settled abroad, and the court has failed to find the address of the famous pop singer from Karachi, Sajjad Ali. Under these circumstances, Reema appears to be the only person currently in focus and facing the music here.
