Actually, neither did we till we looked at all those fair maidens and handsome strangers who'd come to India recently and realised that they all came, fell 'in work', and found an alternative home sweet home in India. Of course, their bank balances have only increased since then.
Whoever said 'Love Thy Neighbour' probably had no idea of how seriously our padosis would devote their careers to living by this tenet.
Sach toh yeh hai ki humare aamne saamne wali countries mein joh talent ke tukde rehte hain, all of them have been smart enough to access the combined commercial potential of the cine and entertainment industries in India. The sound of Pakistani vocals first reverberated across Bollywood and national radio programmes when legends like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan crossed over to find the country going gaga for their Sufi sounds. Now, no one perhaps makes for a stronger example of this than the names from Pakistan's music world, who've found an unparalleled fan following as well as stupendous demand for their music and voices from India.
The same route across the border was soon traced by popular pop bands from Pakistan such as Junoon and Strings (which, by the way, have had their single "Na Jane Kyun" featured as a soundtrack for "Spider-Man 2's" dubbed version). In fact, Junoon's first concert in India in 1997 saw almost 50,000 fans in attendance from across the country. Talk about number power! That's perhaps why newer musicians from Pakistan have found it easier to follow in the footsteps of their enterprising seniors. Atif Aslam, Adnan Sami, Nusrat's nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shafqat Amanat Ali have all answered the call of Bollywood in recent years, and revelled in the commercial viability of their decision.
But the taj of Mallika-e-Opportunity right now needs to go to Veena Malik, who has courted both controversy and commerce in India. She first grabbed our attention with her oh-so-nearly-intimate scenes with Ashmit Patel in "Bigg Boss", but since then, Veena's made 'shocking' her middle name. However, she now seems to be finding ways to settle down in the country. Even though she has said in an interview that she's finally buying property in Dubai because she wasn't "allowed" by the Indian government to purchase a house here, she still went ahead and 'adopted' an Indian girl this year, and is now getting ready to find her better half through the reality show "Veena Ka Swayamvar". As part of her interview to us for this edition of DT's 17th Anniversary series, Veena said, "Some time back, I was speaking to a popular host in Pakistan. He made an interesting point. Unhone kaha, jitna paisa aap chaar shows se kama lete ho, utna toh main 15 shows karke kama pata hoon."
And that's the hard (cash) reality of it. Sabka sapna is money money, and that's what is bringing them here with this frequency. We've reserved the dishiest import of all for the last. Actor-singer Ali Zafar's voice, we've experienced, can easily be overshadowed by the cacophony his female fans generate. And that's probably the reason why, since his Bollywood debut in 2010 with "Tere Bin Laden", the actor has already seen two other releases - "Luv Ka The End" and "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" - and is busy working on the next two films, "London, Paris, New York" and the remake of "Chashme Buddoor". And we haven't even begun to talk about the response to his music in India yet.
The point is, like we've said in the past eight editions, the increasing financial strength of the country is attracting talent from all over the world, and according to the laws of physics (and economics), the pull is strongest for those who are nearest to us.
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