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Pakistani artist shows how Lahore mourned Dharmendra’s death; says ‘art has no borders’ in viral video

The video shows a poster on a wall at the NCA building in Lahore, featuring Dharmendra’s photos along with a tribute written in Urdu.

Pakistan performer shared a video on Instagram expressing how deeply people across the border felt the loss of Indian cinema legend Dharmendra

A post from Pakistan is gaining attention online for capturing the idea that “art transcends borders.” It begins with the lines, “The artist is still an artist, no matter which areas they locate in. One Artist takes a whole nation with him, he leads,” setting the tone for what follows.

Pakistani performer, painter, and traveller Barira Khan shared a video on Instagram expressing how deeply people across the border felt the loss of Indian cinema legend Dharmendra. In her clip, she says, “Sab ko aisa lagta hai ki India aur Pakistan dushman mulk hai (Everyone thinks India and Pakistan are enemy countries) but humne apne humsaayon se kabhi nafrat karna seekhi hi nahi hain (but we never learned to hate our neighbours). Humesha jab borders pe main Indians se milti hoon, hamesha humne pyaar hi aapas mein baata hai (Whenever I meet Indians at the border, we always share love). Mujhe lagta hai art connects us (I feel art connects us).”

She then shows a poster on a wall at the National College of Arts (NCA) building in Lahore, featuring Dharmendra’s photos along with a tribute written in Urdu. “Here in Pakistan, we are mourning the death of Dharmendra ji,” Khan says as she films it.

She continues, “Kitni khoobsurat baat hai naki art ka koi border nhi hota (How beautiful it is that art has no borders). Mujhe lagta hai border kuch hota nahi hai, hum sab ek hi hain (I believe borders don’t really exist; we are all the same).”

In her caption, Khan reflects on what she has learned at the prestigious NCA: “Being the student of arts and studying in south Asian’s top ranked art school @nca_officials i learnt nothing but the beauty of art is its universal nature. The bridge it creates between different nations, different humans from different caste, religion, race, and makes all of us stand at the same place. Where human existence collides!”

Watch the video:

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A post shared by Barira Khan (@beeingbarira)

The video has now crossed a million views, with many users sharing heartfelt reactions in the comments.

One person wrote, “Yeh sirf politics wallo ne he nafrat felayi hai (Only politicians have spread this hatred).” Another commented, “Divided by land, united by art.”

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A third user added, “The amount of great people I met in Canada from Pakistan is not even funny! Some of them are such great friends of mine.”

Someone else suggested, “Make art, Open Border, Let people understand how similar we all are RIP the great artist.”