AMRITSAR: Undeterred by his arrest and unaware of the sentence he may be awarded for illegally entering India, a 21-year-old Pakistani man is adamant on returning to India to pursue his Bollywood dream.

“Once back [to Pakistan], I will again apply for visa to visit Bollywood and meet my star heroes,” Mohammad Abdullah said after appearing in a court here on Saturday.

Abdullah was denied visa by the Indian High Commission in Pakistan, following which he decided to visit the Wagah border, but there he changed his mind and jumped the international border instead, where he was arrested by the Border Security Force (BSF) on May 25.

Initially, it was believed by Indian officials that Abdullah was on a recce mission to check the alertness level of the BSF along the Attari-Wagah border.

However, during interrogation it was found that the resident of Swat was a diehard fan of Indian film stars and himself wanted to be an actor. He said it was his love for India and Indian actors that had motivated him to cross the border.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Devinder Singh said that Abdullah was remanded to judicial custody till June 9.

By arrangement with the Times of India

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017