Meet Pakistan’s very own Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Activist Ansar Burney appears to be Salman’s inspiration

Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan seems to have inspired many people from both sides of the bother. The story of a simpleton from India, played by Salman Khan, who beats all odds to illegally enter Pakistan, just to return a mute Pakistani girl to her family has captured the imagination of many people from both countries. On Friday itself, a Pakistani woman named Chanda Faujia was caught in Punjab without proper travel documents, who claimed to have come to India to meet her favorite Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. She claimed her documents were with her family who were aboard the Samjhauta Express. [caption id=“attachment_2375090” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The original Bajrangi Bhaijaan? Image Credit: Facebook[/caption] However, it seems that  the character of the endearing Bajrangi Bhaijaan himself is inspired by a real life Pakistani philanthropist. Ansar Burney , Pakistan’s former federal minister for human rights, has been seraching for the family of a mute Indian girl who strayed into Pakistan more than a decade ago. Sounds familiar right? He has even visited India for the same, albeit legally, according to a 2012 Daily Mail report. The similarities don’t end there. The girl, named Geeta by the Pakistan social workers, was found by the police at the Lahore railway station when she was eight and was said to have probably boarded the Samjhauta Express by mistake and entered Pakistan.This girl could write little Hindi and was able to communicate through that, continues the report. A Pakistan newspaper The Express Tribune,  in an article titled ‘Is Bajrangi Bhaijaan inspired by Pakistani activist Ansar Burney?’ quoted a Facebook post from the official page of the social worker that said “The Indian Film Bajrangi Bhaijan looks it’s inspired from the story of Pakistani human rights ‘HERO’ Mr Ansar Burney who has been looking for the whereabouts of the parents of Geeta an Indian girl presently in Pakistan since more than last 3 years.”

The Indian Film Bajrangi Bhaijan looks it’s inspired from the story of Pakistani human rights ‘HERO’ Mr Ansar Burney who… Posted by ANSAR Burney on  Sunday, July 26, 2015

Inspired or not, the release and popularity of Bajrangi Bhaijaan has helped Geeta’s case. Pakistani activists have launched a fresh campaign to find the family of the girl, according to a Hindustan Times report. “I went to India three years ago with photos and video of Geeta to try and find her family but I couldn’t trace any leads. My trust has started a cross-border campaign to try and find Geeta’s relatives so that she can be handed over to them,” Burney told Hindustan Times. Hopefully the film’s popularity will give their effort the necessary spotlight and Geeta can be reunited with her family, just like Munni. Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s character isn’t the first cross-border comparison that  Bajrangi Bhaijaan has drawn. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s role as the goofy reporter Chand Nawab was very similar to the hilarious real-life Chand Nawab who was made famous by the viral video of his unsuccessful attempts at reporting. Apart from the mannerisms, even the name and the scene were used exactly in the film. In fact the real Chand Nawab has very politely asked for compensation for using him as inspiration. Looks like Kabir Khan has a sharp eye for ‘inspirational’ stories!