At least one brave Indian filmmaker is refusing to give up on his Indo-Pak love story

This past few weeks, we’ve seen arts and culture caught in the crossfire of Pak-India political tensions.

While Indian producers refuse to work with Pakistani talent in the future, the film community in Pakistan contemplates whether to advocate for artistic freedom or to rebuff any opportunity of a joint venture in retaliation.

Amidst the chaos, there is a madman who believes there is still hope.

Impervious to the difficulties faced by Indian directors, including Karan Johar, in releasing films featuring Pakistani actors, Indian filmmaker Harsh Narayan is working on a joint film production with the cast and crew belonging to both sides of the border.

“We must condemn all aspects of terrorism, in the strongest of language,” Narayan said. “It is painful to see artists being criticised for their work based on their nationality. Films bring people together. As a filmmaker, I want to use the medium to bridge the divide.”

Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke is a cross-border love story that aims at bridging the gap widened by political tension and media misrepresentation in the region. The script is based on the journey of two musicians with different pasts. “It is a story based on the psyche of the youth of both nations – their desires, aspirations, despair, love and life,” Narayan said. “Music is used as a metaphor in the central plot in the film.”

Having spent five years working on the project, Narayan is not taking a step back.

“We have been in discussions with Fawad Khan for the male lead for the past six months, and a well-known young actress in Bollywood to play the leading lady. I am hopeful that the ban is temporary and the film will go on the floors in 2017.”

Harsh has been mentored by well-known filmmakers Shyam Benegal and Mahesh Bhatt and has a track record in promoting Indo-Pak cultural cooperation for the past 15 years. He has taken numerous initiatives during this period to host delegations from Pakistan as well as led Indian artists across the border to sow the seeds of coexistence in the minds of the younger population.

Narayan recalls how he had almost given up on his mission just as he had started in 1997.

“It was somewhere in 1997, during my student life in Patna, that I first came up with the idea of visiting Pakistan,” he said. “I teamed up with Arif Hussain, a friend of mine, for the cause. We requested the then Cultural Minister of Bihar, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, to take a cultural delegation of students to Pakistan and invite one from there to Bihar. Despite our regular follow-ups for two years and assurances from the minister, there was no progress. Then the Kargil War took place in 1999, followed by a military coup in Pakistan and we could see our dream falling apart.”

But the story didn’t end there.

In 2004, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan twice. Diplomatic ties between the two countries began taking a positive turn and borders had opened up for travel. Taking advantage of the situation, Harsh approached Kiran Seth, the founder of Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth, to take a delegation to Pakistan and was delighted to receive an encouraging response.

“At that point in time, in spite of being contacted by the High Commission of Pakistan, I had no contacts in Pakistan itself,” Narayan said. “Finally, in September 2004, a delegation comprising 15 students and a few senior artists made it to Lahore.”

‘People are afraid of trouble’

That journey has continued. Even when the Pathankot airbase was under attack for four days, straining India-Pakistan ties further, a group of 16 Pakistan nationals were at Igatpuri in Maharashtra, quietly learning life lessons as part of an initiative conducted by Harsh in collaboration with the Vipassana International Academy that offers a 10-day course on meditation. Volunteering as the Pakistan Coordinator at SPIC MACAY, he has been inviting students and artists to participate in the International Convention (Art and Culture workshop) for the past three years in different cities of India, including Chennai and Mumbai.

What makes him sure he can complete his film mission?

“It was the celebration of Janmashtmi in Lahore that inspires me,” Narayan said. “I had never imagined that one would able to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna at a temple in Pakistan in such harmony. While Hindus were there in full strength, it was amazing to witness members of other communities – Parsis, Sikhs, Christians, Jews and even Muslims – present at the occasion. They sang bhajans together and even participated in Aarti. There was a time when people laughed at me when I talked about going to Pakistan. Today, the same people ask me how I managed to sustain my dream and if I could take them for a visit across the border. As the song by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore goes, Yadi tor dak shune keu na ase, tabe ekla chalo re (If no one comes to respond to your call, go forth all alone …) and I have done the same.”

This article first appeared on Dawn.