After the racy action caper Race opened to packed houses last Friday, Pakistanis are eagerly awaiting Aamir Khan's debut directorial venture Taare Zameen Par, which opens on March 28.

Race was the second Indian film after John Abraham's Goal to be released simultaneously in Pakistan and India.

But Race faced a bit of trouble with the censor board, which asked UTV Motion Pictures to cut some scenes before granting it a U/A certificate.

It was smooth sailing with the censor board for Taare Zameen Par, a children's drama about a dyslexic boy, which hit Indian cinema halls last year.

With Taare's release this Friday, UTV will become the only Indian company to have a third release in Pakistan in less than six months.

Race is being distributed in Pakistan by Karachi-based Eveready Pictures, which released 15 prints in nine cities while Taare will be released by Geo TV, which plans a 15-print release.

"With these new films, UTV has released three Indian films in Pakistan and we are glad that the authorities have opened their cinemas to our films. Pakistan is slated to become an important overseas market for our cinema, with an audience that mirrors the sensibilities of our domestic audience," a UTV senior official was quoted as saying.

UTV, which is tapping the Pakistani market, has earned more in Pakistan with Race than the UAE, another important market for Bollywood films.

Race, directed by the duo Abbas-Mastan, stars top actors Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu.

Meanwhile, after the critically acclaimed Pakistani film Khuda Ke Liye releases in India on April 4, Indians can look forward to another Pakistani production - Khulay Aasman Ke Neechay - which is scheduled to open on both sides of the border on May 9.

Khuda Ke Liye will be the first Pakistani film to be released in India after a gap of about four decades. The film, produced and directed by Shoaib Mansoor, is about Muslims in a post-9/11 world. The film will be distributed in India by Percept Picture Company.

Pakistan banned the screening of Indian films after the 1965 war with its neighbour. The ban has been relaxed in recent years for several movies, including the classic Mughal-e-Azam and Taj Mahal.

A committee of Pakistan's Senate or upper house of parliament recently recommended the lifting of the ban on Indian films and the importing of Indian films on a reciprocal basis.

Javed Sheikh, a Pakistani actor who is often seen in Bollywood films, the latest being Om Shanti Om in which he played Shah Rukh Khan's father, is looking forward to the release of Indian films in Pakistan.

"We are just waiting for the new government to be sworn in and the deal on the cards is 12 Indian films a year," said Sheikh, who also appears in Khulay Aasman Ke Neechay.

Compared to India's production of over 1,000 movies in a year, Pakistan's film industry makes just about 50 movies a year. Attendance in movie theatres has also been hit by rampant piracy.