Indians and Pakistanis unite in New Zealand for a Hindi film releasing this weekend

Mistake..ek galthi, is an hour-long thriller directed by Santosh Tukkapuram from Hyderabad and produced by Nasir Khan from Islamabad, who also stars in the movie along with Yoshna Singh

Never mind the border disputes, one thing, which has always united the Indian sub-continent is music and cinema. Especially the two neighbours India and Pakistan.

And there is recognition of this on both sides. That’s why, Pakistani-origin musician Adnan Sami, who became an Indian citizen in 2016, was awarded a Padma Shri by the Indian Government this year. Similarly, years earlier, in 1998, the great Indian thespian Dilip Kumar was honoured by Pakistan with the title of Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the country's highest civilian award.

Now, these close cultural ties have reached the shores of New Zealand as well, with Mistake..ek galthi, an hour-long thriller, directed by Santosh Tukkapuram from Hyderabad and produced by Nasir Khan from Islamabad, releasing this weekend in Event Cinemas Westgate, Auckland.

Khan, who is a well-known radio jockey with the local radio station Apna 990 AM, is also starring in the film, along with actress Yoshna Singh.

Santosh Tukkapuram (left)

“We shot the movie in a 15-day-schedule in a motel in the west coast of Auckland in September last year. With post-production taking few months, we were ready for release in February this year. But then Covid stuck. Now that New Zealand is at Alert Level 1, and normalcy has returned, we are very happy that our labour of love is the first movie to release in New Zealand after the national lockdown,” said Tukkapuram.

Before moving to New Zealand in 2011, Tukkapuram was an ad-film maker in Hyderabad. Since then he had shot few Punjabi music videos here, directed a short film, and for five years, worked with the Apna TV. “That’s where I met Nasir, and we became close friends. He always wanted to act and I always wanted to direct. So one day we decided to make our dreams a reality,” Tukkapuram added.

Khan, like Tukkapuram, also moved to New Zealand in 2011, and had since then acted in a Fiji movie and few TV serials produced by Apna TV. “But this is the first time, I am acting in my home production, and as a main lead. I am happy that our effort has generated lot of traction in India and Pakistan as well, with many celebrities, actors, and movie personalities from both sides of the border sending their best wishes,” he said.

Nasir Khan (right)

On the question of what’s next, the Indian-Pakistani director-producer duo, is planning to release the movie in other cities of New Zealand, starting with New Plymouth where Tukkapuram is based. Then will come the turn of Christchurch, Wellington, and Hamilton, depending on the audience response, they say.

“Releasing the movie in Australia and Fiji is also on our radar. And the signs are great. Our first show on June 13, is already sold out,” said Khan.

On his part, Tukkapuram, who has already started work on a local Telugu production, informed, “We will start principal photography for that very soon, with two actors coming from Andhra. We are looking to cast a local talent as the main female lead. Unlike this one, that will be a romantic movie.”

“With Mistake..a galthi, we want to showcase the local movie-making talent from our communities. We are sure after seeing our movie, people will realise that making quality Hindi and other Indian language movies is a possibility in New Zealand,” concluded the director-producer duo.

-Gaurav Sharma

- This story first appeared in The Indian News. The original story is posted here.