When Amitabh Bachchan was provided with Afghanistan's Air Force for security | #71
Also, famous Video Games that feature India ➡
Namaste,
Love thy neighbour says the Bible. Now, if your neighbour is some regressive, oppressive, violent regime, it can be rather challenging isn't it? But before the rise of the Taliban, the country didn't harbour such an extremist and conservative approach. If you've read The Kite Runner by Khalid Husseini, you know what we're talking about. However, in Husseini’s own words, his fiction shouldn't be considered representative of his homeland and people should read works of history instead. This week’s edition is dedicated to stories that connect India and Afghanistan.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
Afghanistan was among the biggest market of Bollywood films until the 1990s. The ex-President of Afghanistan, Najibullah Ahmadzai, was a huge fan and when Mukul S Anand’s ‘Khuda Gawah’ was being shot in Afghanistan, he provided half of his country’s Air Force for Amitabh Bachchan’s security.
Speaking of Bollywood, Afghanistan is indirectly responsible for Amjad Khan bagging the role of Gabbar Singh. Danny Denzongpa was initially considered for the role but he had a prior commitment to Feroz Khan's Dharmatma which was to be shot in Afghanistan. The timings for the projects clashed and since the production got permission to shoot only during the month of October in 1973, Danny had to turn down the offer for Sholay.
India has significantly contributed to Afghanistan cricket. Due to instability in the region and a lack of infrastructure and facilities in their country, the national cricket team chose their home grounds in the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Noida, about 40kms outside Delhi, as their home ground. Afghanistan’s first test win was also at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradhun. Talk about a home away from home.
And lastly, the term from Tagore's story Kabuliwala is still in use and the people of Afghanistan residing in Kolkata are called Kabuliwalas, which loosely translates to "people of Kabul".
From IWTK with love 💌
Everyone’s talking about *that* advertisement. So here are some Fun Facts™ about the OG Cadbury ad.
💕both the ads. The original had 2 possible inspirations. - Abbas Ali Baig was the first Indian cricketer to be Jaarvo'd by an unknown lady while on his way to a century. - The love story of @Shambha_v's parents. Her father was at Ogilvy. #CadburyAd #goodluckgirls
Oh wow!! Take a bow, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Ogilvy :) A simple, obvious twist that was long overdue, and staring right at all of us all this while! https://t.co/Urq8NXtg7W
Karthik 🇮🇳 @beastoftraalYou’d be surprised to know that India has been featured in many famous video games such as Call of Duty, Far Cry, Civilization, Assasin’s Creed and more.
Only in India 🇮🇳
A man in the Khagaria district of Bihar might have taken the phrase, "Finders keepers, loosers weepers," a little too literally when he received Rs 5.5 lakh in his bank account due to an error. He claimed the money for himself and refused to return it saying PM Narendra Modi sent him the amount.
Contest Alert 🏆
Last week we asked you what the reference in this iconic line from Kannada film Ganeshana Maduve was? The dialogue goes “Don’t worry mother. I am like Gavaskar, will bat right-handed or left-handed.”
Well, here’s the answer - This dialogue references the time Sunil Gavaskar batted left-handed to counter the spin of Raghuram Bhat from Karnataka during a Ranji Trophy game. Kudos Neeran K for spotting the doosra and getting the answer correct. We’ll be in touch with your prize.
If you want to win some IWTK merch, here’s your chance. Answer these questions and the person with the highest correct answers wins. Can you guess these five Indian Actors with an Afghan heritage?
Affectionately known as Bhaijaan, his ancestors were part of the Yusufzai tribe.
Born in Kabul, her first movie Janasheen was shot in Afghanistan post-Taliban reign in 2003.
She made her debut in the film with the popular song 'Chogada Tara'
Known as the perfectionist of Bollywood, his roots can be traced to the city of Herat.
His debut film was Daag (1973) starring Rajesh Khanna. (Late actor)
Reply to this email with your answers. Our interns are monitoring the mailbox even on the weekend 👩🏽💻
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❤️ IWTK