Mahesh Bhatt’s 1982 cult romantic film Arth has been remade in Pakistan and has become the first ever Hindi movie to be officially reproduced by the neighbouring country. Arth starring yesteryear actress Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda was a semi-autobiographical film written by Bhatt himself. In the movie, a filmmaker (Kharbanda) has an affair with an actress (Patil) and leaves his wife (Azmi). The plot follows the wife’s search for her identity. Renamed as Arth 2, the remake now stars Shaan Shahid, Humaima Malick, Uzma Hassan and Mohib Mirza. The film has been made with local flavours and the indigenous narrative have been maintained. according to reports, the remake is a contemporary retelling of the original story and will be set in Lahore. according to Hindustan Times report, the concept of Arth 2 materialised after Shaan met Bhatt in 2015 and expressed his desire to remake the film for his country’s audience.
Shann said that the model of Arth will be a great way of collaborating the film trade between the two countries. According to a newspaper report, Bhatt has supposedly given the rights of screenplay and story without charging a single penny. Bhatt is all praise for the film and after his comments, the Pakistani audience can’t wait to watch the remake in the theatres. “A stunning looking film shot with passion. Thank u @mshaanshahid for bringing the film that hurled me into history to a whole new audience,” Bhatt tweeted. Bhatt also complimented Humaima for her stunning performance in the film. Humaima reverted to the tweet by posting, “Shukriya these words of yours are my win.”
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Bhatt further divulged to the media that he was very happy that Shaan was working on a film which he started off his career with. He also dismissed rumours which said he was against the idea of his work being remade.