Their Ash in our Bollywood

The charms of a cross-border thaw: Blue eyes, a seductive smile and an easy flow of English laced with chaste Urdu. Reema, known as the Aish...

The charms of a cross-border thaw: Blue eyes, a seductive smile and an easy flow of English laced with chaste Urdu. Reema, known as the Aishwarya Rai of Pakistan, is seated in a Juhu hotel suite, accompanied by secretary Ghulam Dastageer who’s handling telephone calls non-stop. ‘‘For long, I have had a desire to see India, especially Bombay,’’ she says. ‘‘Thanks to Allah, and thanks to our leaders, I am finally here.’’

Well, the 26-year-old Lollywood star isn’t here on a sightseeing trip. Reema, with 175 films to her credit, is visiting the entertainment capital on business — to finalise the music rights of her directorial debut Koi Tujh Sa Kahan.

It’s a candyfloss flick (Karan Johar has his counterparts across the LoC), to be shot in England. And Indian singers have lent their voices. However, Reema wouldn’t reveal the names.

This isn’t Reema’s first brush with Bollywood though. A trained classical dancer, Reema has performed at a Bollywood awards function with Karisma Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. ‘‘Anupam (Kher)’s wife blessed me saying I was the devi of dance. In Pakistan, dance is not so evolved, but I learnt it,’’ she says. ‘‘If dance is not in Pakistan’s culture, so what? It’s part of our common heritage, something the sub-continent should be proud of.’’

Reema had kicked up a ruckus back home in 2000 when she participated in a Zee TV Annu Kapoor-anchored Antakshari show held in America. A chance remark on the show, ‘‘Dil Dil Hindustan, Jaan Jaan Pakistan’’ had the hardliners up in arms there. ‘‘They said, why did I utter nice words for India. Ab lekin mahaul badla hai (Now situation has changed),’’ she laughs.

When you tell her that she is compared to Aishwarya Rai, Reema smiles: ‘‘Oh, that’s a great honour. I loved her in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Taal.’’