KARACHI: Pakistani actress Ainy Jaffri Rahman has called for a separation between art and politics, weeks after announcing that she would be starring in an upcoming Indian film called Coke.

Pakistan banned the screening of Indian movies after ties with New Delhi reached a new low in 2019 over the disputed Kashmir region. Before this, Pakistani artists were banned from working in India in 2016 after militants that India claimed were from Pakistan attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters near the town of Uri in the part of Kashmir administered by India. Pakistan denies state complicity.

India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed neighbors, have fought two out of three wars over Kashmir. Both claim the region in full but control it in part.

“I humbly believe art should have no politics or boundaries but alas the political situation, as we all well know, is extremely complicated,” Rahman, 34, told Arab News this week, speaking about Coke, an Indian film entirely shot in Stoke-on-Trent, England and which will be released on a streaming platform.

“There are collaborations happening every day [so] if you’re shooting on neutral soil, there isn’t usually an issue.”

Rahman said cultural exchanges were “extremely necessary” for a nation’s personal growth as well as in its ambitions to become a global player.

“There’s so much to offer both ways and it’s such a shame that there are these horrible bans,” she said, adding that Pakistan would be a “global force to be reckoned with” if art were allowed to flow freely.

Speaking about Coke, which is directed by Sarim Momin, Rehman said that the film would revolve around the themes of human greed, the fight for survival, family, and loyalty.

“I have a complicated nuanced character [in the film],” said Rahman, declining to reveal more about the film.

“After so many years in the business, you start looking for something different – something out of your comfort zone, something uncomfortable that will help you push boundaries. This role provides me with that, so I’m very excited about it.”

Rahman added that many Indian producers and casting directors had offered her work over the last decade but the projects never worked out for her for several reasons.

“[But] a casting agent reached out for Coke, and this time, the timing was right,” she said, “so everything just clicked into place.”