C H I T C HAT
Business-wise, ‘Revenge
of the Worthless’ made
nothing: Jamal Shah
R
evenge of the Worthless was a venture that Jamal Shah had been working on, and anticipating,
for years; the same cannot be said for Pakistani
movie-goers. Despite the fact that he had promised a
movie that packed a punch in terms of entertainment
and quality production, it failed at the box office. Shah
however, takes the results in his stride, standing by his
decision to make the film, and looks forward to touching
upon similar topics in the future. The film may not have
garnered impressive numbers or ratings, but it definitely
gave Shah a lot to learn from. According to box office
statistics, it made a
total of Rs10.6 million on its opening
weekend.
“Business-wise, I made
nothing,”
shared
Shah. “I am waiting
for an international
grant so I can break
even.”His
wife
Amna, who was the
producer of the movie, said its dismal
performance was so
because it was not
a typical commercial film. “It wasn’t a
masala type of film,”
she said, adding,
“This is something
that a Pakistani audience is not accustomed to [seeing].
It is about politics, and clearly, the youth of our country isn’t really interested in that. ” The earnings may be
pointing in the opposite direction, but Shah maintained
that he was satisfied with the overall response and feedback he had received. “The response from the public
was very good. They praised me for my decision and for
taking the risk. This is an important issue for Pakistanis.
Revenge of the Worthless represents our true stance
against terrorism.” The director was, however, disappointed with the way the movie promotions had been
handled. “The distribution was shabbily done and the
movie could easily have done better if it was publicised
properly,” he said. “Apart from this, cinema owners prefer Indian films over Pakistani movies because they give
them better business.” He added that it was because if
this that hardly any posters or promotional campaigns
were seen prior to the release. Surprisingly, Revenge
of the Worthless received a much better response from
movie-goers hailing from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P),
as compared to viewers in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. “People from K-P came to watch the movie in
theatres in Islamabad since the film was most relevant
for them,” shared Shah. “It received a better response
from the Pukhtun population because of its theme mainly. The response rate in cities like Multan, Gujranwala,
Sukkur and Hyderabad was also quite
good.” The plot entails a disfigured
cultural narrative of
northern Pakistan
and the struggle of
the unsung heroes
of the 2009 Swat insurgency. It depicts
heritage in its pure,
raw form. Citing
another major reason that may have
contributed to the
failure of his project,
the director said he
had faced a great
many difficulties in
bringing sponsors
on board. “I approached many corporate sector clients
but they were all reluctant because of the subject of the
film,” he shared, adding that their response perhaps
would have been better has this been an entertainment
flick. Because it is based on true events, and because
it is the fruit of years of hard work and dedication, the
project will forever remain close to Shah’s heart. He said
that film-makers in Pakistan need to focus on delivering the right message through their projects, instead of
blindly following trends. “It is important to address relevant issues through film. The practice of aping Indian
cinema needs to end because it is a lethal trap,” he said.
“It is critical for the success of a film that its content and
subject should be very strong.”
15 | BOOM