Bollywood actor and outspoken activist Swara Bhasker, famed for her work in Tanu weds Manu and Veere Di Wedding, recently tied the knot with her old friend and new love Fahad Ahmad, a political activist. In a moving piece for ‘The Week’, she writes about the saga of her wedding outfit, ordered from Pakistani designer Ali Xeeshan.
When the dress (a lehnga outfit) got delayed in Lahore Bhasker needed someone to fly it from Lahore to Dubai from where Fahad had arranged a courier to Delhi. But the travel agent in Lahore needed to be paid. The invisible walls between India and Pakistan make direct financial transactions difficult.
Bhasker reached out to her long-time Pakistani friend Annie Zaman for help. She writes about how within half an hour of that call, the ticket had been paid – Annie’s wedding present to her friend. Sadly, she herself couldn’t attend the wedding in person due to visa restrictions.
As Bhaskar puts it, “State machineries can deny a girl a visa, but how do you stop a resolved bridesmaid from doing her job helping the bride, even if it is from across the border?”
Read more at Because my friend Annie is Pakistani! – The Week, by Swara Bhasker, 26 March 2023