REPORT
Can Pakistani cinema survive without Bollywood?
I
n the wake of worsening ties between Pakistan and
India, one cannot help but wonder how the Pakistani
cinema industry would survive without Bollywood
films. In the light of possible ban on Indian content, the
entire business is going to be affected as our cinemas
rely on them for a steady flow of income. Whether or
not there is going to be a ban remains to be seen; however, one cannot ignore the possible consequences of
this decision. Admitting that there is no alternative, Atrium Cinemas Managing Director Nadeem Mandviwalla
said, “70% of the business comes from Bollywood and
Hollywood. There is no alternative. If the ties worsen, it
is going to affect everything. There’s a possibility that
theatres would be shut down temporarily.” Mandviwalla
added that even if one considers the argument against
Indian content, people will still continue to watch pirated
Bollywood films at home. He feels we can only survive
the ban if it’s short-term. “A temporary suspension until
the situation gets better is going to affect us, but we can
survive. If it doesn’t, cinema owners might have to close
shop or shut a few screens down to cut costs. We don’t
produce enough films to sustain ourselves throughout
the year. We need to produce at least over 50 films
annually.”Moroever, he recalled a similar occasion from
the time of the Kargil War. “It happened during the Kargil War. It’s equally going to affect the cable networks.
Their in-house video channels playing Indian films all
day are going to take a hit. During Kargil, they protested
about it and it was solved in a few months.” Echoing the
sentiment, former Sindh Board of Film Censors chairman Fakhr-e-Alam weighed in on the situation, saying
the ban would result in going back to the days where
our screens were shut down because there weren’t
enough movies. In case of the ban, he suggested the
government to setup a fund for production houses to
make a set number of film annually. “We need at least
45-50 films annually to sustain the industry. If we are
not producing that much content, it’s all going to come
to a halt.” Cinepax Cinemas Assistant Marketing Manager Abid Ali Zaidi said the cinema chain has already
lined up an alternative, in case the ban is imposed. “We
are planning to run older Pakistani films once again. We
already do that on a smaller scale when attendance is
low, especially during Ramazan. But this time around,
it’s going to be on a bigger scale. We are going to start in
October, regardless of the ban.”
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay director Anjum Shahzad said we must
take a stand and not be on the
fence over the decision. “Look,
this is an emotional reaction.
We must either ban them once
and for all or don’t. We need a
sensible, solid and mature media policy, not an emotional one.
You ban the films and go home
and watch Indian television serials and cartoon dubbed in Hindi.
It’s not going to make a difference. Close the DVD shops selling Indian films. If you think we
shouldn’t show Indian content
because they over there don’t
want to show Pakistani content
anymore. That’s not a solution. I think culture and arts
should be above all of that.” Shahzad said if the ban is
imposed, it will remain imposed for a couple weeks before being repealed. “Just pick one side. Either ban or do
not ban and stand by the decision. This drama of banning it and then un-banning some weeks later is not going to take us