What's new

The Pakistani film industry/How can it be revived?

M

Mercenary

Senior ODI Player
Joined
Sep 6, 2003
Runs
24,655
I think the Pakistani film industry could be so much better than they are if they stuck to what they were best at!

The strong point of the Pakistani entertainment industry is their strong storylines and the professional and excellent way those stories are told. The strong storylines are the main reason for the huge success of Pakistani drama's which even indians that i know prefer watching over their own ones.

I think the Pakistani film industry should ditch the whole 'flesh circus' style of movies that are becoming prevalent these days and just make films which feature strong storylines instead.

These films wouldnt rely on vulgarity for success and would therefore be popular with family audiences, etc.

The Indian film industry may thrive by getting their actresses to expose everything but Pakistan isnt as 'modern' or 'liberated' or 'advanced' in these matters as our neighbours.

Its for this very reason that in Pakistan families would rather disown their daughters than let them act in films and most of the heroines have rather 'shady origins' and unmentionable pasts.

If we concentrated on telling stories (which we are good at), then we would get more 'decent girls' and 'proper actors and actresses' working in the industry which would immediately improve the quality of the whole Pakistani film scene.

What do you guys think?
 
Nice thesis Merc

But u did nt answer why Indian movies r a huge success with all their vulgarity in Pakistan even


while Pakistani movies with same standard of vulgarity can not fare well in box offices
 
actually Pakistani movies are alot more worse...this is why they aren't a success but I agree with marc on this.
 
In India being a film star is a career and even girls from good families can do it with very little stigma attached.

In Pakistan, its a dirty business and its often a case of taking a vaguely pretty girl from some mandi who will do anything and sticking her before a camera. There's little attempt at a story and it concentrates on violence and vulgarity.

Such a thing is known as soft porn and no1 watches porn for more than 10 mins!!

In India they add a story (however weak) to the vulgarity and they gloss everything up to the max, so it ends up being more popular. The romance angle gets the women in and the half-naked ladies gets the men in.

Its something that isnt so obviously porn, so it gets away with it!
 
Pakistani movies were just about starting to improve with films like Aina ( mirror ) with Nadeem and Shabnam but then the VCR revolution hit the streets and the porno crap that we call Indian movies flooded the market - our film industry lost its way and now its beyond help - nothing short of a natural catastrophe ( earthquake/tsunami just effecting the movie studios ) is gonna fix this problem.

We have great story writers - they just need to meet decent directors and cinematographers and we have a revival.
 
Its strange. I dont think I've ever watched a Pakistani movie, but will ocassionally watch serials. With Indian stuff its the opposite. I'll watch a movie from time to time, but will never go near the serials (despite my Nani watching them all evening)
 
Not sure what brought this about. I htought pakistani movie industry was dead anyway

if you happen to accidentally catch a glimpse of indian or pakistani movies, in general, all you see our thrusts and grinds
 
Wasnt always like that - need to get hold of some black&White Urdu ones and really enjoy a movie in Urdu...
 
Ive seen a few of the old ones ad 70s movies were even worse Mig(thats a decade after your era I think) :-D
 
no , you need to judge them for the time/era they were made in - what really fascinates me about those movies are the locations/shots of life from that era ( ya know things like the old Palace hotel near PIDC etc ) some of them like "Mutthi Bhar Chawal" or "Insan or Gadha" to me are classics.
 
Coughs and picks up his dentures.....

Haan Beta, Kiya Din they....
 
:eek:D Coming soon to an Old Peoples home near you !! Actually, have decided to retire and live in BC ! Vancouver probably, mountain hideout and build letter bombs or something......moohahaha !!!
 
The only Pakistani movie I have seen was Maula Jatt, didn't even understand most of it. I saw a telefilm called Daira a while back, which was pretty good.

Pakistan should just stick to the dramas. :p
 
Maula Jatt is the best film ever!!

Insan or Gadha is a great film, the older films with nadeem, shabnam, javed, etc were pretty good!

Then vulgarity took over!!
 
pakistan film industry use to rock, it was ahead of india untill the terroist zia ul haq took over.


now films are improving with the karachi people who make dramas, commericals, music videos are now making films. we had salakhein last year which was a huge hit and ppp will release in a few weeks time and should also be a big hit.
 
suhaibonline

Do Pakistani middle class still go to the cinemas or is the cinema dying slowly ?
 
When i was young, my cousins and i went to see International Ghunday in cinema...Man, ill never have such fit of laughter ever again
 
suhaibonline said:
pakistan film industry use to rock, it was ahead of india untill the terroist zia ul haq took over.


now films are improving with the karachi people who make dramas, commericals, music videos are now making films. we had salakhein last year which was a huge hit and ppp will release in a few weeks time and should also be a big hit.
Click to expand...

I guess its a habit of the Karachiites to pull Pakistanis out of trouble. :-D What can we do we are like that only.
 
Article: In Defense of Pakistani Films

Opinions ? Thoughts ?

By Mustansar Hussain Tarar

Once upon a time a term “**** Bashing” was coined by white raciest bald-headed youths who terrorized the Asians settled in United kingdom. They targeted old men and girls in particular, beating them up and at times killing them and no matter what the nationality of the victim, Indian, Bangladeshi or even Chinese they called this sport “**** bashing”.

However, now the Pakistanis are invovled in “**** bashing” now. Pakistanis love to ‘**** bash’, ridicule, degrade and almost hate anything which is Pakistani, be it politics, literature, language or local products. But their favourite target these days is Pakistani films, the actors, directors, script writers, singers and everyone connected with films is ridiculed.

This condemnation started with the advent of cable television when the Indian channels bombarded us with cheap soap operas and Bollywood films. The Indian “navel” invasion was on, with the rest of the of the body parts chipping in. Now it is almost sacrilegious to praise or mention a Pakistani film, a height of bad taste so to speak and against all norms of aesthetics. This is yet another symptom of a sick and insecure society.

True that recently our films have degenerated and their quality at times is pathetic to say the least, but how can you condemn Pakistani films totally when in the last 57 years the industry has produced dozens of memorable classics along with scores which even the Indians could never match? And kindly consider that this art form along with other creative art forms are an asthma to Pakistani society in general. Basically it is an anti-art society which does not tolerate any creative activity, the actors are called miraasis and anybody remotely connected with showbiz is looked down upon.

An actor friend of mine and mind you one of the top most actors of today, although a Syed, highly educated, belonging to a scholarly family has problem marrying off his sons because he is in showbiz. About ten years back I asked the ghazal maestro, Ghulam Ali as to why he so frequently visits India, is it the money?

“Nahin Tarar sahib,” he said “there is enough money in Pakistan, I go to India for a little bit of izzat which is not available in Pakistan.” It is said the Ustad Bare Ghulam Ali Khan used to reside in a dingy abode inside the old city of Lahore. Some thieves broke into his house and carried away whatever little possessions he had. Therefore the Ustad went to the nearest police station to report the theft. The thanedar, however, had better things to do so he told him to wait outside for a while. The Ustad sat there underneath the scorching sun for about two hours, sweating profusely. In the meantime, as his complexion was rather on the dark side, he again requested the thanedar to oblige him. The thanedar seeing this great hulk of darkness sweating in the sun called his assistant and said, “Oi, take the report of this buffalo’s “Kutta” he is in a hurry”.

Although Ustad had numerous offers from India in the past, he preferred the poverty and indignity of his own soil to the riches and dignity of a foreign land. But this incident shattered him completely and the very next day he left for India and it is said that the provincial governor there, was there to receive him at the airport and touch his feet. So in such a callous art hating society, if certain individuals still pursue the notorious arts of acting, singing, dancing and making films they are exceptionally brave and committed. Under such circumstances producing those film gems is no less than a miracle. Most of these films had amazing musical scores; the compositions were magical to say the least. And what else do you expect when the likes of Khurshid Anwar were around, a close associate of martyr Bhaghat Singh, a college fellow of Faiz sahib, a philosophy master and a composer unparallel in subcontinent. I honestly believe that some of his pieces had a mystical element and could melt your earthly existence and transport it into the worlds unknown, otherwise how can you explain the flute interludes of Sun Wanjhali di mithri tan and Kabhi hum main tum main bhi piyar tha?

Not only Khurshid Anwar but the presence of greats like Master Ghulam Hyder (remember “Gulnar”) Master Enayat Hussain, Master Abdullah and Rashid Attre. They all graced an era with their exceptional musical talents. The legends of Noorjehan and Mehdi Hasan owe their prominence and fame to Pakistani films.

Sometime back, famed TV producer Shoaib Mansur came up with a programme of Pakistani compositions which were directly pirated by the Indian film Industry; even the famous Choli Ke peeche kia hai was borrowed from us. Why forget Reshman’s Wai main chori chori which was copied unashamedly by Lata Mangeshkar Yara seeli seeli or most of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s compositions. Even today, the Indians are overawed by our pop singers and borrow their tunes freely.

I feel the present decline in the film industry started when the import of Indian films was totally banned after the “Jal” agitation. Since there was no competition the industry thought it could churn out any garbage and people will per force see it. Some producers regularly churned out ditto copies of Indian films. The Ziaul Haq era throttled it good and proper, because the entertainment sector shifted to the religious sector and you know what sort of heavenly entertainment it was including conferences of Ulemas and Mushaikh.

The final nail in the coffin of film industry was good old Sultan Rahi, though no fault of his. The dialogue delivery, dresses, scores and even dances remained the same in hundreds of films and Rahi also remained the same with his flat nose and Attila the Hun wig because it is a fact that public loved it proving that if you administer a regular doze of poison the public will start loving it eventually.

There were times when Pakistani films competed with Indian films rather successfully. When Noorjaan’s Dopatta was released in a Calcutta cinema hall, the rest of the cinemas in the city were totally deserted due to its popularity. Then finally the cinema hall was burned in retaliation, ban the Pakistani films to save the Indian film industry was the chant.

Despite the agitation, when Gurudut’s Jal was released, an excellent film of Yeh rat yeh chandni phir kahan fame, it did not steal the limelight from Pakistani films. I do agree that we have some colossal self-centred fools in the film industry but aren’t we self sufficient in this genre in almost every walk of life?

Recently I read an interview of a film writer who boasted that he is a world record holder as far as the number of film scripts are concerned, he forgot to mention another achievement, he keeps on churning only one story and achieving maximum number of flops. Let us call him Grucho Marx and this Grucho stated very casually and I quote, “India has a population of 800 million, but there is not a single Grucho Marks of my stature in them.” Aren’t the Indians unlucky? I feel that the present slump and decline in film industry is temporary, the films by Javed Sheikh and especially Ajab Gul are doing roaring business on box office.

Recently Syed Noor’s Churian was a treat to watch. I am just an ardent viewer of Pakistani films and cannot claim to be a film historian so I will be missing a lot of worthy films made in the past. However, please go through the list of following films and do point out if a single one of them is not praiseworthy. Actually most of them can easily be called classics considering the size and sources of our industry. Films like Gulnar, ChunWay, Dopatta, Lare, Phere, Shehri Babu, Pate Khan Phanney Khan and many more perhaps prove my point that despite the present drought of good films we should be proud of the Pakistani film industry and not ridicule it straight away.

If you still have any doubts please try to see Koel, Kartar Singh, Susral, Lakhon Main Ek or Heer Ranjha perhaps you will change your opinion about Pakistani film industry because if you haven’t watched these films then you have no right to criticize Pakistani films. Can you name a single film from the subcontinent which surpasses Heer Ranjha in direction, acting, camera craft, poetry and heavenly music?
Click to expand...
 
the only way to improve the industry is by getting the telefilms and drama people to come into films and make them.
 
When are they gonna learn, film's don't need music anymore, if they take the music away, more people will start taking the industry seriously.
 
I don't really watch Pakistani movies but from the ones I have seen they are the worse kind!! I love Pakistan but the movies they make are abt whores and gangsters what do they expect? I mean they have far more BS than most bollywood movies...all them songs in the rain or some girl just jumping up n down plz!!

First they need to make good movies for us to actually watch them instead of them blaming bollywood for showing them navel areas lol is it just me or Pakistani movies show lot more than that as well.

I always hear good things abt the drama guys so maybe they need to move into films and clean them out and I think most people would end up than watching Pakistani movies.
 
A good read...haven't seen a Pak movie in ages though
 
pakistani movies were good long ago and involved cultured people i've heard...now those who go into lollywood are usually uneducated and have no sense of decorum...was it reema or resham who kissed in a bollywood film? anyways, these are the types of people who make up the majority of the lollywood fraternity...technology is also a huge factor and i just think that pakistani industry can't compete in this regard...in my opinion, pakistani dramas are still good...the name lollywood just smacks of cheap bollywood imitation...its not about self-hate...but what needs to be criticized...should be criticized...when it comes to music, these artists flee to india beacuse there's money there...that's what they mean by "izzat"...the whole social fabric of india is based on entertainment, music, and emulating american type standards...its perfect for any asian music artist...however, i would prefer it if these artists showed some patriotism and not sell themselves to india...
 
the old urdu films were quite good but the industry has long since lost its way
 
I dont watch pakistani movies

I remember ages ago (really long time) i saw a Sultan Rai (think it was him, well he had a big tash in anywasy) film - it was called Halaku they khan (something like that)

I found it funny as hell cos first he stopped a car from driving off :)))

the he stopped 4 horses from riding off :)))

then the best was saved til last - he stopped a small airplane :))):)))
 
Geordie Ahmed said:
:)))then the best was saved til last - he stopped a small airplane :))):)))
Click to expand...




Was the airplane speaking in Multi-Dialects, also did it break down afterwards...if so, I might know that Plane

BTW, it's no "Small" plane these days:D :)))
 
I think Tara is barking up the wrong tree.. rather than bashing the "**** bashing" younger Pakistani generation, he should write an article on how to improve the pakistani film industry... if he cant' maybe i will.. i have enough ideas that instead of an article, it would look like a PhD thesis on "How to use ur Hamerrhoid cream in 100 different ways"
 
Monsee said:
Was the airplane speaking in Multi-Dialects, also did it break down afterwards...if so, I might know that Plane

BTW, it's no "Small" plane these days:D :)))
Click to expand...

no no this airplane doesnt speak in multi-dialects - ONLY jet planes do that :D
 
seems it's very old article.

good to read Chacha Tarar again :D

as hementioned abt Sultan Rahi, I agre with him it was the time downfall of lollywood started. In past at time Indian were not able to match Pakistani film and likes of Nadeem, Waheed Murad, Mohd ali and Munawar Zareef did damn good job in industry. Indian movie Kal ho Na Ho, concept of this movie is taken from Munwer Zareef's Khushia (black & white Punjabi movie).

but now not only actors are working in 9-10 movies at time even directors making 4-5 movies at time so wat else we can expect then ? one director used to make every movie in 30 days time . Haven't seen Pakistani movie over dacade now. and don't think gonna watch any in recent time.
 
Geordie Ahmed said:
no no this airplane doesnt speak in multi-dialects - ONLY jet planes do that :D
Click to expand...



Oh my bad...Jet Plane it is then

So do you think he holds all those passports or do they just give him a Global one for all his Nationalities:D
 
i tell u whts wrong wid our film industry

tht our actors,directors ,producers etc tryto play as a martyr rather than finding out the real cause of concern for the industry which is holding it frm making progress
 
**** movies are so bad these days, that sometime the cinema inserts totas for like 3-5 minutes to keep the crowd satisfied and prevent rioting.
 
i seen one Pakistani film in the last few years it was called "yeh dil aap ka huwa" it was upto good standards.
 
The Indian Punjabi film industry is going through a renaissance these days, how long before Pakistan's film industry turns the corner?
 
i think pakistans film industry is improving, majajan was good and did excellent business.
 
What industry? calling what we have an industry is an insult to the word industry :p
 
Pakistan has got some great directors who make award winning international films like 'khamosh pani' but they get ignored my the mainstream media.

Instead people are treated to a 50 year old women like saima dancing and pretending to be 21 year old college girl romancing a hero old enough to be her son.

When I went to a pak cinema last year there was about 4 people in there and it looked like they went there to sleep rather than to watch the film. I can understand why they did that because me and cousins walked outside in 15 minutes because of the bakwass they were showing.

Hopefully with people like shoaib mansoor making films now things are on the up.
 
The Monk's Assassin said:
Hopefully with people like shoaib mansoor making films now things are on the up.
Click to expand...
Shan in a recent interview said that Shoaib's film will fail because a film's success if measured from its success in cinema, thing is middle class families no longer go to cenimas, they much rather buy a 100 Rupee DVD and watch it in the comfort of their living room where the atmosphere is not cheap. Only truck drivers and rikshaw drivers go to cinemas, he also said that there are a number of great stories with directors but producers are not willing to put their money in because they say people who come to cinemas do not like these type of stories.
 
Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar said:
Nauman will you go to the cinema to watch Shoaib Mansoor's film?
Click to expand...
Cenimas are mostly filled with druggies atleast the ones whose ticket prices are affordable. The cinemas for the elite (in fortress stadium etc) are out of my pockets reach so I would rather buy a DVD if I want to watch it.
 
Nauman said:
Shan in a recent interview said that Shoaib's film will fail because a film's success if measured from its success in cinema, thing is middle class families no longer go to cenimas, they much rather buy a 100 Rupee DVD and watch it in the comfort of their living room where the atmosphere is not cheap. Only truck drivers and rikshaw drivers go to cinemas, he also said that there are a number of great stories with directors but producers are not willing to put their money in because they say people who come to cinemas do not like these type of stories.
Click to expand...

So because truck drivers and rikshaw drivers will be the audience it is a failure? :20:
 
Hash said:
So because truck drivers and rikshaw drivers will be the audience it is a failure? :20:
Click to expand...
Nope because they do not like the type of film Shoaib Mansoor is making, they are only interested in seeing Saima dancing and shaking her things.
 
Nauman said:
Cenimas are mostly filled with druggies atleast the ones whose ticket prices are affordable. The cinemas for the elite (in fortress stadium etc) are out of my pockets reach so I would rather buy a DVD if I want to watch it.
Click to expand...

gee for a guy who complains about everything all the time, you sure do your bit to help the situation, don't you?
 
Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar said:
gee for a guy who complains about everything all the time, you sure do your bit to help the situation, don't you?
Click to expand...
How is me not affording complaining?
 
all I know is that you complain about our industry sucking. now a guy is risking a lot of his own to make a good film and now you tell me that you can't afford to support him and his work. what incentive does he have to make good films if he can't even break even?

if you can't even support the industry by supporting a good effort, maybe you don't have a right to complain about the industry nonstop? just maybe?
 
Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar said:
all I know is that you complain about our industry sucking. now a guy is risking a lot of his own to make a good film and now you tell me that you can't afford to support him and his work. what incentive does he have to make good films if he can't even break even?

if you can't even support the industry by supporting a good effort, maybe you don't have a right to complain about the industry nonstop? just maybe?
Click to expand...
If you can send me money to afford a 500 Rupee ticket (when my pay as a trainee student is only Rs. 3500/ then I will go).
 
Mercenary said:
I think the Pakistani film industry could be so much better than they are if they stuck to what they were best at!

The strong point of the Pakistani entertainment industry is their strong storylines and the professional and excellent way those stories are told. The strong storylines are the main reason for the huge success of Pakistani drama's which even indians that i know prefer watching over their own ones.

I think the Pakistani film industry should ditch the whole 'flesh circus' style of movies that are becoming prevalent these days and just make films which feature strong storylines instead.

These films wouldnt rely on vulgarity for success and would therefore be popular with family audiences, etc.

The Indian film industry may thrive by getting their actresses to expose everything but Pakistan isnt as 'modern' or 'liberated' or 'advanced' in these matters as our neighbours.

Its for this very reason that in Pakistan families would rather disown their daughters than let them act in films and most of the heroines have rather 'shady origins' and unmentionable pasts.

If we concentrated on telling stories (which we are good at), then we would get more 'decent girls' and 'proper actors and actresses' working in the industry which would immediately improve the quality of the whole Pakistani film scene.

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

I think if Pakistani movie industry has to thrive they would have to first drop this "Holier than thou atitude". With all due respect your posts,while raising some decent points, also take judgemental swips at Indian movie industry, Indian Actors and Actresses and society itself!

As an outsider I would give my two cents on the subject. I can not say I have been enamoured by Pakistani movies(except Khaamosh Paani) but the television serials that I have seen have been great. Or used to be great. Better than what Indian television showed. But thats TV. It is one thing to sit back and laught at a 50-50 joke and completely other to go to a movie, shell out 100 bucks and enjoy the same jokes for three hours.

For the movie to work you need a variety of things at work. Take story for example. Nothing works in sub-continent than a love-story. How do you propose that to work? Many Indian Directors, for example Mahesh Bhatt, is on record saying he could not make a love-story with Muslim background as it seriously handicaps him with the liberties he can take. Do you truly think a Hindu girl dances around displaying her mid-riff every other second? NO. But if a movie comes out like that noone gives two hoots. Now imagine a Muslim girl doing that, and Mullahs go up in arms. No I am not suggesting it should become a free for all but I am suggesting the limitations for a Director when it comes to treatment of the same subject vis a vis religion. And if thats true in India, a country more "modern", "liberated"(your words) you can imagine whats the scene in Pakistan.

The funny thing is that most times when I go to watch a Bollywood movie in USA the crowd is filled with more non-Indians than Indians. Any movie that has an anti-Pakistan stance would be reviewed by Indian cine experts as probably flop abroad as many Pakistanis wont see it.

Moral of the story - if people watch it then surely they should be allowed to be made at home. If Indian society has not crumbled by the "immorality" of Bollywood why would Pakistan's?

xxxx
 
Nauman said:
If you can send me money to afford a 500 Rupee ticket (when my pay as a trainee student is only Rs. 3500/ then I will go).
Click to expand...

no. I'm not going to send you even one rupee.

all I want you to do is stop whining about Pakistani films if you will not support good efforts and talented people.
 
Mutazalzaluzzaman Tarar said:
no. I'm not going to send you even one rupee.

all I want you to do is stop whining about Pakistani films if you will not support good efforts and talented people.
Click to expand...
Why dont you come and support it then you seem to be very passionate about supporting it.
 
nauman, majajan has proved that middleclass people will go out and watch films provided that they are good, so did yeh dil apka huwa, koi tujsa kahaa and salakhein
how can you listen to a ignorant ass like shaan. first he critizes vulgar badmash films then he starts acting in them is well and not only that he starts directing them is well.
 
suhaib said:
nauman, majajan has proved that middleclass people will go out and watch films provided that they are good, so did yeh dil apka huwa, koi tujsa kahaa and salakhein
how can you listen to a ignorant ass like shaan. first he critizes vulgar badmash films then he starts acting in them is well and not only that he starts directing them is well.
Click to expand...
I was saying the same thing which you are but someone quoted me that Shaan interview and I must say it did make sense, he will act in what general public (the ones who go to cinemas) want. Producers will make the films which the cinema goers want. Thing is the condition of cenimas is so pathetic now, torn chairs, chars and drugee culture and all that families no longer go there. The best cinema of Islamabad called NAFDEC used to be visited by decent families but the business was so low (even though they showed English movies) that they were closing that down when I left Islamabad.
 
Pakistan needs to find a niche in the global film industry. I suggest philosophical mind boggling movies which there aren't enough of in the world. The only way to get this is to make sure that writers should be paid more than the actors.

This would pull the intelligent Pakistanis to the cinemas and intelligent people to the industry who are otherwise just walking the streets looking for work. These new cinema goers will be willing to pay more than your churs smoking bhikari or nukar ka paan waala.

More successful films will give the film makers more confidense in investing in bigger movies and good storylines could mean royalties from Hollywood directors who want to remake the movie for the international market.
 
if lollywood had resources of bollywood and get rid of those 60's style film making cameras and at least buy some enw cameras then they can challenge the best

pakistan have history of producing great actors

if mustafa qureshi and nanha were in any other industry they would have taken the whole industry to new heights
 
Some Pakistani movies from the 1970's/80's are brilliant viewing only that they don't get the exposure they deserve."Saharey" from the 80's with Muhammad Ali and Shabnam is one of my all time favourites not only due to its powerful storyline but also cos it has no romantic leads rather talks of human relations of how people/Pakistanis depend on eachother .
"Kamyabi" from the early 80's with Nadeem and Shabnam is another brilliant movie telling the story of a Pakistani man who relocates to Canada then forgets about his roots even parents.Try and get your hands on these video's/dvd's and you'll not be dissapointed.The old Indian movies like Sholay and Mughal-e-Azam are all-time classics but today they produce them for the western market as well as the expats.
In the process the Indianess has been replaced by shameless western culture but they only care about the profit.
 
Last edited:
There was a time, good Pakistani films did get made. The arrival of the VCR did not help matters as pirate films from the Bollywood industry started pouring in. Then the DVD player and Cable operators totally killed whatever scope there was left. Using old camera's from the museum doesnt help matters. Some of the footage of the fims is shocking to say the least.

Nauman's point about the naff cinema atmosphere is also a contributing factor towards the decline. I have heard that Pakistan's first IMAX cinema is being built in Lahore. I'm afraid people will still want to watch Hollywood/Bollywood films there. However, it will encourage families to start going.

I am looking forward to Shoaib Mansoor's effort and will watch it whether I'm still in the UK or Pakistan.
 
Why is the Pakistan film industry a Flop?

my question is Why pakistan film industries not producing good films,actor and actress
 
from my limited intelligence, i think its becasuse theres no loyalty, everyone is watching bollywood rather than our own lollywood, i think so any way
 
waqararif11 said:
from my limited intelligence, i think its becasuse theres no loyalty, everyone is watching bollywood rather than our own lollywood, i think so any way
Click to expand...

And u can just imagine the standard of lollywood if Pakistanis are watching bollywood.
 
waqararif11 said:
from my limited intelligence, i think its becasuse theres no loyalty, everyone is watching bollywood rather than our own lollywood, i think so any way
Click to expand...


the real question is why are people watching bollywood films instead of lollywood films?
would you watch one?


even thought indians films are trash people watch them, look at last years blockbusters dhoom2, kriss, munnabhai, don they were all cr@p.
the only reason why people watch them is cos they use state of the art technology and speak hindi, which we understand.

and i dnt agree with pakistan not producing good actors, tv dramas have some excellent actors and film makers, gov. needs to bring the technology in and encourage these people to move to the film industry,

but right now we have shoaib monsoors khuda ke liye which should be an excellent film.
 
Pakistan should forget trying to produce bollywood style trash but focus on producing films on various themes focusing on storyline, characterisation etc. Instead of trying emulate Indian cinema they should look at Iranian & Turkish films.

However, Pak film industry or Lollywood or whatever you want to call it is still associated with the 'kanjar' culture.
 
aah yes... no discussion of Pakistani films can be complete without comparison to Bollwood. either way here goes my rant...

our people say that they watch Bollywood because Pakistani movies suck. that raises a number of questions that need to be answered. what is a good film? is a typical Bollywood masala film a good film? is a Pakistani film by definition a bad a film? what makes a Bollywood masala film "better" than a Pakistani masala film? is it better dances, dancers, more nudity, better production quality? have Pakistanis made any good films? is any Pakistani making any good film?

I remember reading an article about a Karachiite who ran a small theatre in his home where he showed good foreign movies (from Iran, France, etc, i.e. NO Bollywood) for no charge. he made a very interesting comment and one that has stuck with me. he said that everybody in Pakistan says there are no good films being made in Pakistan but his question was - does anybody here know what constitutes a good film. therefore, before you can make good films you need to educate the public on what is a good film because most don't have a clue. if they said that they want to Pakistani films to be like the so-called "art" films, I'd understand. but how are any of these masala flicks good films?

either way, for the sake of argument lets assume that all the nudity, the provocative songs and dances make Indian films good films. the problem with Pakistani films they (rightly) say is that our actors and actresses are uneducated and sleezy. then, I'd like to know which educated Pakistani girl from a good family will want to do the thrusts, the thumkas, and the jhatkas for the voyeuristic pleasures of her Muslims brothers. which Pakistani family will allow their daughter to learn dance and music so that she can perform mujras? I don't know of any educated, respectable family that will. so, lets stop the hypocritical bullsiht about the Pakistani filmi "actresses" being from the Shahi mohallah. only girls from the mohalla will act in the movies that are based on Bollywood storylines and ideas.

I remember watching Uzma Gilani's interview and she talked about the kind of taunts she had to put up with when she decided to act in PTV dramas. and this lady is one of the great actresses of Pakistan. she's done no masala roles. she is a rock solid actress and even she got siht just because of our sexist culture.

now, lets talk about whether any Pakistani has made any good movies. the answer is yes. the much acclaimed "Khamosh Pani" was a beautiful, beautiful film. Usman Peerzada's "Zar Gul" won film of the year in the Toronto film festival which is a HUGE achievement because of how prestigious the TIFF awards are. even then, Usman has not been able to get the film released in the Pakistani theaters. I remember reading Sabiha Sumar's interview (Khamosh Pani's director and writer) and it was heartbreaking to read the lack of cooperation she had to deal with when she asked any Pakistani to assist with making her films. similarly, Qavi Khan was on TV a while back and talked about his film which he can't get released because the powers to be simply won't let it pass.

so there is some good work being done. the question we need to ask ourselves as viewers is: are we supporting it? how many here have watched Khamosh Pani? there were folks in this forum biatching about Pakistani films on one hand and when I asked if they would go and watch Shoaib Mansoor's upcoming Khuda Ke Liye. and they said NO and they had various excuses lined up for why.

in conclusion, imo, poor Pakistani films aren't simply the filmmaker's fault. the blame rests with all of us. lets call a spade a spade. we like to watch mujras and voyeuristic storylines. and since they're culturally incompatible with ethics of the Pakistani middle class, only people from the lower strata of society will enter film which will mean poorly made, softcore porno being peddled as Pakistani film.
 
Last edited:
The damage was done by film makers, cinemas and to some extent uncivilized/rude audience that would keep quite a few from going to theater lives on. The VCR came 1980 and at that time you will just find Indian or Hollywood film to watch at home and they took over.
 
12thMan said:
The damage was done by film makers, cinemas and to some extent uncivilized/rude audience that would keep quite a few from going to theater lives on. The VCR came 1980 and at that time you will just find Indian or Hollywood film to watch at home and they took over.
Click to expand...


not really, indians didnt take over pakistan till the 90s.
the real damage was done in the zia era when he shut down a thriving film industry after that it never came back on its feet and the talented makers from that period shifted in tv and paindus and prostitutes entered a dead film industry,

but now you can see its coming back on its feet, for the first time in pakistans histroy the gov. is supporting the film industry, majajan was a blockbuster and is still running in the cinemas even after 1 and a half years, now we have shoaib monsoors project and javeid fazils main laut kar au ga.
we just need latest facilities now.
 
not really, indians didnt take over pakistan till the 90s.
Click to expand...
I don't think so. In 80s hardly anyone would even mention a Paksitan film or going to theater. but the people will talk about films available at the video store which were just Indian and Hollywood. For Indian movies it was not just the new movies which were in demand but also from 60s and 70s
 
Last edited:
we have a much smaller market as compared to india so the invertors cant invest as much money in a movie as the indians do coz' they wont get their money back, supply and demant applies, the amount of money the indians spend on making one song, we make a whole movie out of it!
 
The main problem with our film industry is that It hasn't gotten the acceptance from the masses. The Hindu culture prevalent in India (dancing culture and theatrics) support Films over there. Our Film industry suffered the most in Gen Zia (Mard e Haq Mard e Momin ) time when his overzealous islamist drive saw film industry suffering the most.
Film making in Pakistan is very easy. A chaudry will take out some bank loan of 5 to 6 million, invest in a film, get a few heroines in, then enjoy for a few months, with the actresses and the extras, and when the film releases it returns almost all your money and with it the bonus of the time spent with the heroines.
In pakistan film isn't actually an industry, its a way to satiate the libido of the chaudries, waderas, bureacrats and politicians.
 
An old anecdote says that if every thing is comming your way then perhaps you are in the wrong lane.

and this applies to our film industry which perhaps is not going in the right direction. since 1990s our film makers have tried to follow the bollywood lead in film making and have therefore tried to increase on the glamour, showy scenes, dresses to maaske up for the weak plot and story lines.
Without even realising that our strenght in the entertainment industry has always been good dialogues, strong plot, better characters, better songs with even better poetry and last but not the least a good stock of comedians to add light to our films.

I personally feel quite proud to be from a land with writers such as Ashfaq Ahmad, Bano Qudsia , Haseena MOin , Shoaib Hashmi etc. Who have been phenomenal in sensitviely assessing the needs of a character in the story and then creating a whole impact around it to grasp the viewers attention to the story right till the very end. There plus point is that they dont need to create a story on their own to have its originality but actually find it in our own society and give us a reflection of our souls.
While Poets like Habib Jalib and Sufi Tabassum , didnt need difficult words in the poetry to create melody , but while picking on words of every day use they create one of most melodious rhythems one can ever hear which is understandable to even the youngest.

Woe to our directors and film producers,who instead of utilising such a rich resource of our country's cultural heritage, in creating a niche of our own film industry to which an ordinary person of this country would relate to as his own , mirroring his problems and miseries and then suggesting a solution to them , have went astray to the world of glamour hoping that the average man would fall for their market in lust of seeing a world which has never been his.

THe common argument that i have heard from these producers and directors in creating such stories is that you need some "filmy things" in a movie to create a film. But this is not the case . I have seen persian movies dubbed in english which are literally shot in just one room , where they take a begining , reach their climax and then have a ending . These movies are quite nice to see, are also interesting and they grasp the viewers attention for full 2 hours or so while keeping the glamour to the minimum. Why???? Because their filmmakers have realised that you dont need all that fancy model dresses, rail thin acctresses, luxury living characters, showy dances and artificial camera tricks and effects to create a market for your product. But all those could be done if you find a strenght in the quality of your movie in the form of a strong base of story line, closer to reality characters and some good and sensible scripts.

While taking the lead of the bollywood we have seen our literal doom in the film industry. THe time is not far that we will perform the ultimate rites of this industry if we dont mend our direction now.The fact is that we are failing in competing with a much bigger industry for the same goods, so in order to survive our film industry needs to change its focus and to give its viewers what we can proudly call OUR OWN.
 
How can the Pakistani Film Industry be revived?

Discuss
 
investment and government support for up-and-coming filmmakers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

SpiritOf1903
Bollywood is obsessed with Pakistan. We’d be flattered if it weren’t so nasty Fatima Bhutto
Replies
47
Views
3K
MenInG
MenInG
MenInG
Wasim Akram set to make his acting debut with Money Back Guarantee
Replies
11
Views
1K
MenInG
MenInG
Bhaag Viru Bhaag
Pakistani film on ‘Hindu nationalism’ is just one part. Series looks at Islamic right-wing too
Replies
5
Views
965
uppercut
U
MenInG
The Pakistani movie industry in crisis?
Replies
45
Views
4K
RajBan
R
R
Aamir Khan says 'please don't boycott my film' after calls for boycotting his next movie trends
2 3
Replies
204
Views
11K
MenInG
MenInG
Back
Top