Indian films threat for Pakistani filmmakers?

As a path-breaking culture of film exchange begins with the screening of Indian films in Pakistan and vice versa, the jury is still out whether it's going to last for some time for real good. India blockbuster 'Taare Zamin Par', by Aamir Khan, and Pakistan's super hit 'Khuda Ke Liye' by Mansoor Shoaib, have sparked off a debate; who the winners and losers are, writes Kathy Robinson for India EU Film Initiative.

Mighty Bollywood

The debate on the future of Pakistan's cinema has become crucial for the Pakistanis as their film industry is on the verge of extinction. Well...that's what the Pakistani say. Thanks to 50 years of neglect, Islamisation and a brutal assault by Bollywood. To the horror of Pakistanis, Bollywood is getting bigger and bigger, trampling over the ambitions of Pakistani filmmakers and stars, many fear in Pakistan. Interestingly, Pakistani exhibitors are in favour of a free for all situation, meaning let the Bollywood come. This, they say, will bring crowds to their empty cinema halls.

Pakistanis love watching cinema, arguably, more than their neighbours in India- where Bollywood churns out 800-900 films a year. Comparatively, Pakistan is a more conservative and conflict-ridden society. The controls on alcohol, discothèques and other modern sources of entertainment are too tight. At the end of the day, people either end up in a worn-out cinema hall to unwind or, if they can afford, watch DVDs of the latest Bollywood movies while munching Chicken Sejjal and Bihari Kebabs in their homes. The affluent ones go to Dubai and Sharjah just to watch the latest Bollywood hits.

Pakistani cinema halls disappear

According to various reports, there were about 1,300 cinema halls during the 1970s in Pakistan. But that's history! Now, the number has dropped down to about 200 in the whole country. As the decline of Pakistani cinema halls continues, less and less films are made in the country. There was a time when Pakistan produced about 300 movies a year. But that's history as during the last four years this number shrunk to 18-30 movies a year!

Writing for Pakistan's 'The Daily Times' Ali Usman says: The Pakistan Film Industry is all set to celebrate its 60th anniversary, but there is no clear answer to the question of whether Indian movies should be screened or not.

Critics, film producers, directors, actors, and film exhibiters seem to agree that Pakistan’s film industry is in decline, but differ on how to revive it. Directors and producers rail against the screening of Indian movies in the country’s cinemas while cinema owners believe the opposite.

The paper says "there are several reasons why Indian movies have made their way into Pakistani cinemas. Despite all the criticism of and opposition to the screening of these movies in the country, our own film industry does not have much to offer as a substitute for their movies. People from the Pakistan film industry say that the screening of Indian movies is unpatriotic, but admit that their own ‘formula films’ have paved the way for the Indian flicks. The lack of good scripts and stories has led to a great disaster in Pakistan’s own film industry and people have ceased to visit cinemas."

The paper quotes the report of a survey: In 1973 there were 63 cinemas in Lahore, 16 in Rawalpindi, 19 in Multan, 19 in Faisalabad, 11 in Gujranwala, 12 in Sialkot, 12 in Peshawar, 86 in Karachi, 20 in Hyderabad, six in Sukkar, and eight in Quetta. Currently, the number of cinemas has been reduced to 23 in Lahore, 10 in Rawalpindi, 14 in Multan, 13 in Faisalabad, 10 in Gujranwala, eight in Sialkot, 36 in Karachi, four in Hyderabad, one in Sukkar and five in Quetta. This all points to the decline of the industry.

Film exchange after 40 years

As India and Pakistan went to war in 1965, the screening of Indian movies in Pakistan stopped. However, piracy of Indian films thrived. After a span of 40 years, Pakistan allowed the screening on piece-meal-basis, beginning with the classic Mughal-e-Azam (1960) when it was re-released in colour.

Though Indian govt did not impose a ban on the screening of Pakistani films in India, there were no takers because of their lack of appeal until Shoaib Mansoor's 'Khuda Ke Liye' (2007) came, the first Pakistani film to be shown in India in four decades. Indians are loving it. It's based on Liberal Muslims vs fundamentalists. At the same time, Indian 'Taare Zamin Par' (2008) was released to packed halls in Pakistan.

Exhibitors in Pakistan are over the moon while the filmmakers mull over the repercussions. Exhibitors argue they need at least 35 films a year to make their business sustainable whereas films such as 'Khuda Ke Liye' are very rare- not even once a year!

On the other hand, Pakistani filmmakers fear their fledgling industry will never be able to compete against the might of Bollywood.

Hope!

However, optimists say the recent cinema exchange between the two countries would revive the stagnant filmmaking in Pakistan. They add there will be more opportunities for Pakistan's talent, ranging from musicians to actors. Talented directors will also get plenty of assignments in Bollywood as the size of Indian cake increases. According to a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Indian Entertainment Industry would be more than $22 billion by 2013.

But the jury is still out!