New Delhi: Giving a Bollywood touch, new Minister of State for External Affairs Vinod Khanna on January 30 said the film industry has a role to play in bringing India and Pakistan closer and favoured reciprocal bus diplomacy by President Pervez Musharraf to end the current stalemate.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had undertaken the peace journey to Lahore by bus and Musharraf should reciprocate, he told reporters when asked if he favoured a different approach to resolve the ongoing standoff.

"President Musharraf should come to India in a bus and shake hands with our Prime Minister," the 57-year old actor-turned politician said after taking charge of his new assignment.

The one-time action hero and Rajneesh disciple felt that "Bollywood has a role to play in bringing the two countries together".

He said it was a "strange" situation that India allowed Pakistani artistes to perform in this country but the same was not true on the other side.

Hindi films, very popular in Pakistan, were also smuggled into that country in large numbers, he said.

A second-time Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur in Punjab, Khanna said, "our efforts to improve relations with Pakistan will continue. I will be happy to contribute in this direction."

In a lighter vein, he said, "probably, I will make use of my big fan following in Pakistan".

PTI