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RexRex said:Do they actually call the industry. Lollywood ?
Yes. It's based in Lahore. That's where the L comes from.RexRex said:Do they actually call the industry. Lollywood ?
And I thought we were shamelessInswinger said:Yes. It's based in Lahore. That's where the L comes from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollywood
RexRex said:And I thought we were shameless![]()
Inswinger said:A few good actors would be a start.
Gabbar Singh said:In that case only one man can rescue the industry and become a real global superstar in the process.
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insaftak said:now i'm all for taxing and spending but this is one industry that needs Tax break for next thirty years. also need to get away from Punjabi Badmash movies.
namak said:The biggest problem is that the film world is frowned upon by the mainstream Pakistani society. Its okay to watch the movies, but working in movies is only supposed to be for the people with *loose* character, or lack of moral fiber. It was said that in the 50s and the 60s, most heroines were the biggest courtesans of their day.
The religious right denounces anything related to films, television, or music, and hence, many artistically inclined people do not choose this as a career path.
In any industry, when there is dearth of talent, it becomes weak, and that is exactly what has happened with the film industry.
I was brought up hearing day in, day out that watching movies, tv, and listening to music for entertainment is haraam, and all the people associated with such industries are sinners. Watching cricket matches was discouraged, but I watched them anyway
I do believe that a part of this attitude is present in Pakistani society to some degree, where people will tolerate watching/listening, but when it actually comes to the point of working in the industry, people will be discouraged, ridiculed, etc, so I dont see how the movie industry can be a success in Pakistan.
Garuda said:I don't think there is lack of talent in pakistan. Look at the singers., comedians. We have seen some of them in Indian TV and shows and they are all very talented.
Similarly there will be very good actors too.
The main thing is they do not have a platform to showcase it. Like I said before, only talent can't create a product and sell.
insaftak said:if I had money I would make a movie on a victim of a drone attack today
insaftak said:if I had money I would make a movie on a victim of a drone attack today
That's very true.BoomBoomCricket said:Actresses are disapproved in our culture. One of the reasons behind this failing industry.
KhushbuHussain said:That's very true.
Hey maybe they can do what they did in Shakespeare's time and dress the guys up as women?
Can you imagine Shaan doing a mujra type dance instead of say, Saima?
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Garuda said:What would you name it?
I propose "White drone down" in the lines of "Black hawk down"![]()
Hmm yes, she is quite...manly.Desire said:There is no difference between saima and shan even now.
Dawn.com talks to Zeeshan Kazmi who made his directorial debut with the forthcoming film The Dusk, a socio-political drama venture of Wajahat Kazmi Films & Shahzad Nasib.
Tell us a little bit about your project and how long you’ve been working on it.
It’s a film which talks about human emotions and behaviour of society towards victims of terrorism in the current situation of Pakistan, We’ve been working on the film since September 2010.
How do you think masses of Pakistan will respond to it, given the different aspects you are looking at?
Those who are looking for realistic cinema projects will find it believable and presenting their thought process in current scenario and others who are looking for entertainment inside films will disappoint themselves.
With tons of Bollywood and Hollywood films being released at the same time alongside, what kind of people do you think will come to see the film?
The film does not aim to compete those larger than life Bollywood and action-packed technology-oriented Hollywood movies because of major differences in the production scale and the style of storytelling, The Dusk isn’t a commercial film at all but I think filmgoers will give it a try.
What aspect of the film struck you most when you saw the story for “The Dusk”?
Well, every auteur truly wants to underscore his/her own mindset while making films. When I first read the script I was like “Oh yes this is what I was looking for to make a film on”.
The film follows the current situation and showing the multifaceted nature of the country. How did you go about “casting”/finding these people for the film? What surprised you the most when following their lives?
Finding actors for a film is the most difficult task film makers are facing these days. Talent resources are limited because most of the actors we can cast are from television industry and getting them “in” effects a film in two ways. First, audience watch these TV actors all time on their televisions so the exclusiveness of film gets killed and secondly acting style of film is extremely different from the TV style of acting which overall affects the grandness of film and makes it closer to TV serials.
The other resource is fashion industry but the success ratio of models-turned-actors is quite limited because their focus of being an actor is more about visual appearance instead of characterization aesthetics and emotional facility.
How has the response and experience been towards your film during international film festivals?
The film was supposed to hit festivals late 2012 but the film company which has produced the film wanted it to be in local theatres before screening it anywhere in the world in order to keep the film exclusive to audience, that’s why festival screenings have been postponed.
With a lot of young people coming up, telling stories and having a sense of direction, making films seems like the new “in” thing. How do you think it can be invested upon further to make it a better professional endeavor?
I think this is the right time for film students to jump in because many young film makers have initiated the process and with the energy of young, film literate team members we can invest upon it further.
Do you think the new breed of filmmakers are recreating our long lost cinema or following Bollywood?
To be honest, nobody is recreating our long lost cinema. Some filmmakers are working in Bollywood style to directly get commercial success while few are doing their own stuff according to standard film art.
As you look back on “The Dusk” as a finished product with the film about to be released, how do you feel about it as a product?
I love the film as it is my debut direction but I believe that it could be made better with more research and planning. That’s what comes from experience
What must a film have in order to captivate a mass audience?
Our audience lacks cine-literacy which forcibly makes them like only the production value and star cast of a project. Without being cine-literate one cannot watch and appreciate the film. Our filmgoers will enjoy a shot with extreme distortion of lens more than a subtle moment of emotion. They will enjoy a larger than life visual treatment with Hell drums more than an inner vocal reaction of a character or symbolism. Categorical rejection is also a common trend found in our audience. Practically, captivating a mass audience is not a task of today’s filmmaker for now.
What are the biggest obstacles for aspiring film-makers in Pakistan?
There are hundreds but mainly absence of talent resources, vision-less actors, non-practical approach of film crews and unavailability of proper marketing structure are some of the main hurdles
How can the country invest further in this industry?
With people who have mastered film education, we can build better teams. People should participate in the whole process of film-making as screenwriters, art directors, cinematographers, editors and sound designers instead of searching for the director’s chair only.
I, myself designed posters, directed and edited film, designed sound, worked on lyrics and at times narrated the film through my voice in “The Dusk”.
http://dawn.com/2012/05/28/rendezvous-with-an-upcoming-pakistani-film-director/
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I liked the journalism ethics scene![]()
Our film "industry" is (sad to say) run by people with bad family backgrounds. Most directors/producers/actors either belong to a certain section of our society or deal with a certain section of society that others do not like to associate with publicly. Specially if you belong to a respectable, educated family, you would not want anything to do with the mainstream Lollywood.
I think the industry can be revived if someone with good ideas and concepts and finances decides to go the "Indi" route as they say here in the US. off the wall, completely non mainstream, etc.
And still it will take years and years to gain acceptance. Careers in Showbiz in every form in Pakistan are looked down upon, and with good reason in some ways, might I add.
I was just watching this clip (even more than listening to the song):
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And, damn, just give some decent platform to these chaps and Pak. movie industry will be big as hell, believe me.
Names like Shah Zaman Baloch, Abdullah Haris or Ali Kapadia (ironically all connected to Karachi) are the proof that there's no dearth of talent, but criminal lack of media exposure/State-sponsored facilities and if we don't do an organic change in that matter, they'll just make clips for songs and not movies.
We should also have a mature culture which nurtures an authentic cultural effervescence, and if they're addicted to "mainstream" Hollywood or Bollywood, that kind of Pak. cinema industry isn't attractive either.
They need young people like me who are talented and good looking. Who are passionate about the Pakistani film industry.
Agreed our movies are too too loud.Mrs. and I finished watching a Turkish serial (urdu dubbed). That was ok. We did a pakistani TV serial which and that was alright too.
So we decided and started watching a Pakistani TV movie (name forgotten). Absolute cringy and switched it off after just 10 min. All of the actors were overacting.
My observation - The actors in TV dramas are so nuanced and stories are so well written.
The movies are exact opposite with over the top acting and every dialogue delivered in a loud an screeching voice, especially by the women.
For starters they need people like wasim akram and moin khan, 10/10 for acting in this one.
I was flicking through Netflix one day and chanced upon the Pakistani movies genre. Earlier there was no way we could ever watch a Pakistani movie but with Netflix, everything is at a click away.
I do plan to watch a Pakistani movie one day. Saw a movie called Cake, remember it having good reviews here. Have no idea what the genre is, but gonna watch it one day.
Watch it. Great movie with a good message and sensibility.
Some movies from Pakistan on Netflix are really good. If you want typical masala then watch Teefa in Trouble.
Then there in one more I would recommend:
Pinky madam. Very good movie as well.
I remember watching one Pakistani movie which eerily reminded of a tamil movie I had watched a few years before. Turns out the director had plagiarized the tamil movie scene by scene
That was probably the only full Pakistani movie I have watched, I watched it just to know how they have recreated the movie, which tbh they did a fair job of it.
I'll add Pink memsaab to my Netflix watchlist along with Cake.
Watch it. Great movie with a good message and sensibility.
Some movies from Pakistan on Netflix are really good. If you want typical masala then watch Teefa in Trouble.
Then there in one more I would recommend:
Pinky madam. Very good movie as well.
I was flicking through Netflix one day and chanced upon the Pakistani movies genre. Earlier there was no way we could ever watch a Pakistani movie but with Netflix, everything is at a click away.
I do plan to watch a Pakistani movie one day. Saw a movie called Cake, remember it having good reviews here. Have no idea what the genre is, but gonna watch it one day.
Not really. The thing is that Pakistani film industry was dead for a long time, and now films are being produced again, so out of pity people give mediocre films good reviews.
Was the Tamil film Soodhu Kavvum? Apparently they had asked for the rights to remake the film, but the producers had already sold them to someone else, so they decided to steal it. They clearly had no shame, or assumed that since Pakistani films are not that popular the producers wont really care.
https://www.moviecrow.com/News/18679/chupan-chupai---an-unofficial-pakistani-remake-of-soodhu-kavvum
Most Pakistani films are honestly not worth watching. I cant think of one to recommend.
However their is a remake of a cult classic, Maula Jatt, which should be out soon. The trailer looked decent, and this is the first Pakistani film I am planning on watching in 11 years. Will watch it to mainly to see why the original became so popular.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBWdUf7wfaE
Some of the movies like Cake/Pinky Memsaab are like the golden art movies of India in the 1970s.. with Farookh Sheikh and Deepti Naval/ amol palekar. I personally enjoy such content which is rare in bollywood now. That is why lot of youtube channels like The Viral Fever etc are a big hit.
I remember watching one Pakistani movie which eerily reminded of a tamil movie I had watched a few years before. Turns out the director had plagiarized the tamil movie scene by scene
That was probably the only full Pakistani movie I have watched, I watched it just to know how they have recreated the movie, which tbh they did a fair job of it.
I'll add Pink memsaab to my Netflix watchlist along with Cake.