PAKISTAN’S FILM INDUSTRY IS BOOMING
As the film industry rises from the ashes, we take a look at where it’s headed
If a movie’s impact can be gauged by one thing, it’s the ghosts it leaves behind. Do the dialogues haunt you in the dead of night? Years later, does something trigger a memory of what you saw? My first brush with Pakistani cinema was in 2011, when I saw Bol, on a tiny screen on a long flight. The movie, which deals with the misogynistic and predatory nature of a patriarchal society, has a well-barbed frame that pricks deep wounds. When combined with the exploration of the internalised fight a person faces because of a society’s predilections — here transgender identity, like in Toni Morrison’s the Bluest
Eye, dark skin — it is a dive into personal nightmares.
It is also one of Pakistani cinema’s undisputed gems of storytelling — one that was a long time in the making.
Lollywood, as the Lahore-based movie industry is known, began on a prolific note.
ORIGIN STORY
The first movie made in the country was Teri
Yaad (August, 1948), a year after independence. It featured Nasir Khan, whose brother Mohammad Yusuf Khan would go on to become Dilip Kumar, the Tragic Hero of Indian cinema.
Almost two decades later, in 1965, when Khan had joined his brother in India and the country had gone to war with Pakistan, Hindi movies were banned in Pakistani territory, making it a springboard for local talent. A growth spurt ensued, only to be nipped by Army Chief Zia Ul Haq, who came into power in 1977. The 80s were shrouded in darkness.
Hamza Bangash, director of this year’s Dia, explains the devolution of cinema in the nation. “It’s difficult to discuss evolution in the context of Pakistani cinema, as unlike other countries’ cinema industries, we went from the grand old days of Lollywood to a veritable blackout under Zia’s regime to the slow trickle of films that started in the early 2000s. The Pakistani film industry is still too new. Everything is an experiment. No one has quite figured out the formula for a successful film, and it’s intriguing to see what is failing and what is succeeding,” he said in an interview with tabloid!.
ONLY THE STRONGEST CAN SURVIVE
And while it’s not yet as prolific or cash rich as its neighbour, many feel the country is entering a golden era. Producer-director Meher Jaffri, whose movie credits include Dummy (2016), Kolachi and Seedlings (2013), says 2018 has been a very exciting year for films — the evolution in the film industry in terms of technical prowess, budgets, audience attendance and the development of more cinemas in Pakistan, etc, has all led to a more fertile breeding ground for more diverse talent to come to the screens.
“I think what is exciting to me is that the writing is finally evolving and there is a diversity of narratives that we are seeing, that was always there in reality, but wasn’t allowed to stand shoulder to shoulder to the more mainstream films and points of views before. Distributors, exhibitors and audiences are displaying signs of increasing depth and breadth in terms of their taste for good stories, characters and/or just plain good old entertainment — and that’s a great trend!”
But while the movie makers heartily agree that Lollywood is on the cusp of change and growth — it’s Charles Darwin’s theory of survival is being put to the test. “Pakistan has no unions, almost no managers. It’s every man and woman for themselves. It’s the Wild West of cinema- and just like how the rest of the country operates — we have fierce tribalism and provincialism,” explains Bangash.
“The ‘film fraternity’ doesn’t exist. We’re in the dark ages as far as any kind of state support goes or national infrastructure,” he adds.
Earlier this year, the government allocated PKR47 million for the establishment of a National Film Academy. There was also a move to lower imports on equipment. And while Prime Minister Imran Khan has praised movies including this year’s hit Cake