Aishwarya
Joginder Tuteja (DNA; October 6, 2015)

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan-starrer Jazbaa will see a wide release in Pakistan this Friday. Quite unlike the recent films that had it tough — Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan initially faced resistance, but later received support while Saif Ali Khan’s Phantom never made it there and neither did Madhur Bhandarkar’s Calendar Girls.

Plain business
“In fact, the release is turning out to be a really planned one in Pakistan,” informs our source, “From day one, the makers of Jazbaa (Zee Studios) were clear that Pakistan was a territory they had to explore. It doesn’t have anything to warrant any kind of argument, resistance or protest against it. It is a dramatic thriller and there is no controversial content whatsoever in there, that would have been influenced by the political relationship between the two countries. It is a pure and simple business decision for distributors in Pakistan and producers in India. Period.”

Strategic opening
No wonder, Jang Group, one of Pakistan’s largest media conglomerates, has acquired the film. “It can’t get bigger than that,” says Akash Chawla of Zee Studios after inking the deal, “It is a huge strategic tie-up that we have hit upon. We are seeing one of the largest ever Bollywood releases in Pakistan.” With over 50 screens already reserved for the Sanjay Gupta starrer, this Friday is expected to be huge for Jazbaa.

Star power
“Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has a huge fan following in Pakistan and with Jazbaa bringing her back in action, it was quite rudimentary to have her arrival announced in style. As for Irrfan, he is a global star today. When other countries are accepting him with open arms, there was no reason why Pakistan won’t do the same,” a trade observer adds.

Meanwhile, the Middle East too has raised such a huge demand for the film that an Arabic version of Jazbaa would have a day-and-date release in these territories as well.