Raees will do amazing business in Pakistan: Mahira Khan

The film-loving audience in Pakistan is waiting for "Raees" to release in the country, says Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, who has made her Bollywood debut with the Shah Rukh Khan starrer.

Mahira, who couldn't promote the film in India as Pakistani artistes are not being allowed by certain Hindu outfits to work in India, joined a video call with reporters here on Friday along with Shah Rukh.

The actress said: "'Raees' is releasing soon in Pakistan and believe me, everybody is waiting for the film just like people had waited all over the world, and I believe that it is going to do amazing business here."

The "Humsafar" actress, who plays Shah Rukh's love interest in "Raees", also spoke about how her family reacted to the film.

"The big fear was people will come to watch the movie and hoot for Shah Rukh, not for me. When my family watched the movie, they were also screaming for him.

"But the kind of response I received has been completely fantastic and I am very grateful," she added.

Sharing the experience of working with Shah Rukh, Mahira, 32, said: "I was nervous as hell. Sometimes I used to wish I wasn't a big Shah Rukh fan. It was scary but it got beeter, especially after we shot 'Zaalima'. Working with him is a dream come true. Nothing short of that."

She has worked with two Khans -- SRK and Fawad (in "Humsafar"). How similar or different were they as co-stars?

"My first proper work was with Fawad. He was a great help. But at no point, I was in awe of Fawad. He is a great co-actor, he helped me out. I still a get a call from him... But with SRK, it was totally different. It would be wrong to compare the two of them. I can't compare him (SRK) with anyone else," she said.

The actress who was seen grooving to the songs "Udi Udi Jaye" and "Zaalima" in the film, stated: "I had to rehearse a lot for the songs. The choreographers used to give me examples of the other great Bollywood actresses."

After the release of the film, the "Raees" team is soon going to release another song of the movie which was edited to make short the length of the running time.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the film also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a pivotal role.

--IANS