Pakistani film star Reema Khan was recently seated for a fun one-on-one on a private news channel when she was asked about not pursuing a career in India, unlike many of her fellow actors like Meera ji, Humayun Saeed, Humaima Malick and Imran Abbas among others.
During a segment, a fan from the audience asked Reema if she got offers from Bollywood like Meera, when she visited India for Zee Cine Awards in 2005, to which she replied, “Yes, I did get a few offers.”She continued, “But I feel like Bollywood has a lot of talent there already, and if they want us to work in those films as well, the working conditions, which I’ve seen previously, only made me realize that although our local industry is small, it is still better and more respectful than Bollywood.”When asked to clarify her statement, Reema explained that while many people would welcome them with warmth and respect, and want the talent from other countries to be utilized in their films, there are some influential groups as well, in the neighbouring country, who do not want outsiders artists, especially from Pakistan, to establish a career in their industry, hence, creating hurdles for them.“And due to that influence, if an artist has to escape in the middle of the night from the country, then it is not something to be cherished,” she concluded.