KARACHI, June 23: The premier of Mughal-i-Azam scheduled for Sunday has apparently been cancelled, as the Indian film delegation, expected here on Friday, could not come from Mumbai for unexplained reasons.

In a hurriedly called press conference, Nadeem Mandviwalla of Mandviwalla Entertainment could not give any confirmation about the new date of the arrival of Indian delegation comprising film artists Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Jackie Sharoff, Urmila, Sridevi, Prem Chopra, Zeenat Aman and others. Though the premier planned for Sunday seemed cancelled, no changes in the schedule were announced in the press conference.

However, he reiterated that from the Pakistani side, things were not only confirmed, but even the visas had been arranged. “We will get instructions by tonight or tomorrow regarding any further plan of action,” he added.

Insiders said that PTV had withdrawn sponsorship of their visit at the last moment apparently for some differences over security issues. They said that the PTV decision followed some reservations expressed by the federal ministry of interior on the issue.

When Mr Mandviwalla was asked about it, he said that he was not aware of any such change and the PTV had not contacted him in this context.

During the press conference, he read out a statement by Akbar Asif conveying his appreciations to “all the people without whose help and support the release of Mughal-i-Azam in Pakistan could have never become a reality.”

To a query, he assured that although Mughal-i-Azam itself was a much-hyped movie, the message by Asif had not been designed to pique the viewers’ curiosity and to create further hype for the movie.

Nadeem Mandviwalla also insisted that it was the people who would eventually decide the movie’s fate. He said that they were not only working for the film industry but also for the development of the entire culture. “This is the first phase and if it is appreciated, we can move forward. And if it fails, we’ll be stuck here forever,” he remarked.

He said that the government had taken great measures to bring Indian movies to Pakistan and all such efforts should be lauded. He also revealed that Pakistan would soon witness an Indian movie festival in the country in response to the exhibition of Pakistani movies in India this July.