by Subhash K Jha

After Akbar Khan another Bollywoodian Shashi Ranjan has also arrived in Lahore almost simultaneously.

Shashi is in the city to oversee his massive talent- hunt launched to chose a young male actor, one actress and a singer for his Indo-pak feature film.

"And the response in one word is overwhelming. I never though there were so many youngsters in Pakistan waiting to give expression to their talents.

We've restricted the young Pakistani lead for my Indo-Pak production to between the age of 19 and 25 whereas the singer can be anything from 19 to 40. The enthusiasm has to be seen to be believed," enthuses Shashi Ranjan from Lahore where he'll also attend Akbar Khan's premiere.

"With my talent hunt on one end and Akbar's premiere on the other there's a lot of excitement about renewed relations between the two countries. The atmosphere is charged.

Everyone is talking about co-productions and talent swapping. I think the doors between the two nations have now been forced open. Nothing can stop the flow of talent from one end to the other."

For the talent hunt Shashi has tied up with a leading cellphone company Warid and a major television channel GEO. "And my talent-hunt contest will be telecast live on 20 May in Pakistan and all the countries where GEO is beamed. I think the cultural exchange programme between India and Pakistan has just started."