Actor Mohib Mirza says he is touched by the adulation Pakistani artistes are getting in India, which is more than what they receive back home.
Mohib, who is on Indian TV screens with his show Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti on Zindagi channel, finds the appreciation from Indian audience towards Pakistani talent surreal.
"I feel elated that our shows have made their way into people's hearts in India. This kind of respect and appreciation towards actors is unbelievable and is something we haven't experienced at home.
"In fact, whenever I have told anyone in India that I am a Pakistani actor, I have seen them treating me with so much regard and it feels amazing," Mohib told PTI from Karachi.
The 35-year-old actor says the biggest example of India's hospitality is the big welcome that Pakistani actor Fawad Khan got here.
"We used to think it will be difficult for Fawad to make a name for himself in Bollywood because after all he is a foreigner there but his popularity in India has stunned all of us. We are ecstatic and proud," Mohib said.
When asked if he would want to work in Hindi films, the actor said not only he but many Pakistani actors harbour a desire to act in Bollywood.
"Bollywood is a very big and renowned industry, so actors here definitely wish to work there. Artistes face many limitations here. Though things have improved, there is a section of society which believes that acting and performing arts are bad culture. That resistance is there hence as an actor you feel like going to a place where you are readily accepted and you have the freedom to work. So, people here eye Bollywood," he said.
The actor says he is happy with the feedback from India for his show Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti. Mohib, who is married to actress Aamina Sheikh, says the romantic-comedy drama, which is about a couple trying to convince their families to get them married, is similar to his real-life story.
"The basic premise of my love story and the one in the show is similar as I had to try hard to convince Aamina's parents, especially her father, for our marriage. He was not sure about my career so it took a lot of persuasion to assure him that I have a stable career as an actor.
So, working on Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti was weird but easy too. I think I took a lot from my personal life while performing the role," he said.
