Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala has called for joint ventures between the Pakistani and Indian film industries and has announced one herself.

"There is a need for more films that promote friendship between the two neighbouring countries and I strongly oppose films that promoted hatred," Manisha, here as part of a film delegation that accompanied Akbar Khan's "Taj Mahal", premiered last week, told the media.

Hibernating for some time after production venture "Paisa Vasool" flopped two years ago, Manisha, with 60 films to her credit, plays a minor role in "Taj Mahal."

The film, which was also a flop in India, has now become the second Indian movie to be screened in Pakistan in the last 40 years.

Nepali-born Koirala said she had picked up the ropes of filmmaking while in New York. She had met a few Pakistani film personalities, but her introduction to Pakistani films came only during her current visit.

"As an actress and a director, I would love to produce a film in collaboration with the Pakistani film industry and am already in negotiation with some concerned people here," she said.

She declined to divulge details.

Terming the screening of Indian films in Pakistan as a "first step in the right direction," she said that there was still a long way to go.

She said that Pakistani films being screened in Indian cinemas would not only bring the people of the two countries closer together but also help the industry financially and would curb the menace of piracy.