TERE BIN LADEN

Within the land of Bollywood, there seems to be an inclination to create American political parodies. Despite a bit of censorship trouble because of a supposed curse word, ‘Tere Bin Laden’ will be released in July 2010. The movie, which recreated the land of Karachi, was shot in areas of Mumbai and Hyderabad which bore close resemblance to Karachi. To add to the authenticity, Pakistani products and even costumes were flown down.

Costumes were brought in from Pakistan by the designer, who went to markets in Pakistan that women normally do not venture out into, just to source authentic clothes for the film. A crucial scene in the film required a truck found in Pakistan with a specific kind of art, wherein drivers decorate their trucks like brides. As luck would have it the director Abhishek of the film, Santosh Thundyil, spotted one such truck at a traffic light in Hyderabad and swayed the driver to borrow the vehicle.

After all the set props, ‘Tere Bin Laden’ is really a tongue—in—cheek comedy about an ambitious young news reporter from Pakistan who is desperate to migrate to the US in pursuit of the American dream. Tere Bin Laden stars heartthrob Ali Zafar, whose character will have you laughing and whose repeated attempts to immigrate are shot down as his visa is always rejected. But when things couldn't look worse he comes across an Osama Bin Laden look alike. Ali then hatches a scheme to produce a fake Osama video and sell it to news channels as a breakthrough scoop. Unfortunately, there are serious ramifications as the White House gets involved and dispatches an overzealous secret agent on Ali's trail.