Impishly Yours

Talking about the popular Indian saas-bahu soaps,Noorani — a guest of Pune-based writer Saaz Aggarwal — says,“I once ran into a young bride from Lahore who was shocked to see a few episodes from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She said to me,‘The mother-in-laws are just as evil in India’.”

Ask him about the Pakistani film industry and Noorani says that Pakistani television is a much more evolved platform that absorbs the country’s cream talent. “Our films have now started to experiment with scripts that tackle social problems but they are nowhere close to Indian films — in terms of popularity and talent. Only last week,I read about an independent Pakistani film being overshadowed by Chennai Express. Escapism is in our blood — both in India and Pakistan,” he says with a laugh.

Noorani,who has been writing for noted Pakistani newspapers and magazines,and even a couple of Indian ones,has donned many hats in his long career,including those of a professor and a

marketing professional. He has co-authored the bestselling book Tales of Two Cities (2008) along with veteran Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar,has authored Boom Boom Shahid Afridi (2009),a

book about the Pakistani cricket star,and also a book on ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan,titled Mehdi Hasan: the Man and his Music (2010).

About his journalistic career and his most memorable encounters and interviews,Noorani replies without missing a beat,“The late Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral,cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. I can’t help that they are all Indians.”

Ask him anything about the growing tensions at the border,and he goes back to the countries’ shared heritage. “The fundamental things like manners,culture,our love of good food,good music and languages are the same. That,and the dirty railway stations on both the sides of the border,” he says in jest.