Bollywood seems to have finally opened its doors to stars from across the border.

Filmmakers Shashi Ranjan and Anubhav Sinha recently roped in two actors from Pakistan Muammar Rana and Jawed Shiekh for their films "Dobara" and "Dus" respectively.

Now it seems the floodgates have been opened to Pakistani stars' presence in Bollywood with Pakistani-actress Meera cast in a central role in Mahesh Bhatt production "Nazar". Other actors from Pakistan are also knocking on Bollywood's doors.

And with Yash Chopra's India-Pakistan love story "Veer-Zaara" creating a global pre-release furore, it seems the time for the Pakistani presence in Bollywood has arrived.

While musicians such as Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and more recently Adnan Sami have been welcomed with open arms, star participation from Pakistan had until recently been low.

However, the bugles of excitement seem premature in the light of the fact that the movement from Bollywood to the other side seems non-existent.

After the recent bomb explosion that singer Sonu Nigam escaped by a hair's breath in Pakistan during a concert tour, live performances by Indians have almost stopped.

"It's very simple. No one in Bollywood would risk lives out there (in Pakistan) just to be a scapegoat in the cultural exchange programme. Sure, actors will be welcome here from Pakistan because the star system in Hindi cinema is going through an acute crisis," a prominent Bollywood filmmaker said.

"The Bollywood stars are charging too much and aren't drawing in the audience. Hence, just for novelty's sake filmmakers are willing to try out these actors from Pakistan. But the fad won't last. Our audiences are indifferent to Pakistani actors. When for instance, Muammar Rana comes on with much fanfare in 'Dobara', there's no reaction from our audience. They don't know who he is and they don't care."

As for Bollywood's presence in Pakistan, there are constant murmurs of Akshay Kumar or Kareena Kapoor signing Pakistani films. But it's unlikely that any prominent star from Mumbai would want to.

"It's tooo risky and financially not viable. Why would any of us want to work in Pakistani films? Though we would obviously not say so for politically correct reasons," says a male actor in Mumbai.

One actress, who has taken the Pakistani plunge, is Kirron Kher, who quietly went and did talented Delhi-based filmmaker Sabiha Sumar's "Khamosh Pani".

Says Kher, "I never thought of the film as Indian or Pakistani. Because what the film has to say has a forceful bearing on both sides of the border."

Made with Pakistani collaboration, "Khamosh Pani", which opens in India next month, has been shot on actual locations in Pakistan where the film is set.

Prominent films on the Indo-Pak issue like Anil Sharma's "Gadar", Chandrapraksh Diwedi's "Pinjar", Gaurang Doshi's "Deewaar: Let's Bring Our Heroes Home" and even Yash Chopra's mighty "Veer-Zaara", which are located in Pakistan have been shot in India.

"Too much permissions to be acquired, too much red-tapism and not enough security," explains Gaurang Doshi pithily.

One solution is to shoot films made with Pakistani participation on neutral land. Chicago-based Indian producer Masood Ali has roped in Pakistani comic star Omar Sharif to direct a film called "48 Hours In Chicago" that would star Rajshri's new blue-eyed boy Sammir Dattani.

Says Dattani, "I believe this is the first film to be made in this way with an Indian producer and a Pakistani director. I'm looking forward to it.

"I think it's time we stopped taking a narrow view of Hindi cinema. Aishwarya Rai has worked with both Rituparno Ghosh in Bengali and Gurinder Chadha in English.

"Let's stop looking at cinema as Indian or Pakistani. Let us go genuinely global."

But, the point is, is Pakistan invited?