Bhowani Junction at 70: Looking back at Hollywood’s Presence in Pakistan
Jun 12, 2026
A seventy-year old photo of Ava Gardner, darling of the Golden Age of Hollywood, standing on a railway platform with a crowd of South Asian men and women behind her, often does the rounds on social media accounts that look back at the ‘good old days’. The story behind the photo, though, is one of exploitation and racist filmmaking. Aqeel Ahmad takes a look at Bhowani Junction, the 1956 film that brought Hollywood stars to Lahore.