Is the cinema business under threat?

The much bandied about phrase ‘revival of the film industry’ doesn’t seem to hold true anymore. A visit on a public holiday or weekend to Karachi’s multiplexes will not give an impression of bustling recreational spots. The business of those who run single or multiple screens now largely depends on Hollywood releases, especially its tent-pole ventures.

The last Pakistani film that made its presence felt in a resounding way was The Legend of Maula Jatt (2022) directed by Bilal Lashari. Ever since, there’s been a lull in cinema houses in terms of footfall.

It would be difficult to recall which local movie saw the light of day after Maula Jatt that created a ripple in the placid waters of cinema business. In the last decade or so there have not been many films that raked in considerable chunks of money for their makers. Punjab Nahin Jaongi filled up cinema halls in quick time, but that happened in 2017.

According to one estimate, for 250 million people in this country there are only 60 cinemas and 150 screens. Even if this is hard to corroborate, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that for such a huge population the number of cinemas is not sufficient. What also needs to be analysed is whether Pakistani filmmakers have their finger on the public’s entertainment pulse.

Arts Council president Ahmed Shah, who hosts discussions on the film industry at the council’s flagship events such as the Urdu Conference, said, “To be honest, our industry never sprang back to its feet after Gen Ziaul Haq’s era. Until you give liberty to the creative lot to make films on subjects they wish to touch upon, it won’t happen. Another important aspect in that regard is that film business is shifting to OTT platforms. Film is no more the medium of the poor or the underprivileged. In the old days, a rickshawala or tonga wala used to save money to go to cinema. Not anymore. It is an elitist affair now. I’m in favour of having more screens, but they should be in neighbourhoods such as Landhi, Korangi and F.B. Area.”

Painting a larger picture, Mr Shah pointed out that the overall situation in Karachi is no different arguing not many people stepped out of their houses to watch PSL matches.

This was the sentiment echoed by renowned director and actor Mohammed Ehteshamuddin, who has Superstar and Dum Mastam to his directorial credit, “The film industry reflects society, that is, every other field. In fact, it isn’t an industry anymore because no one is willing to invest in it. This just doesn’t have to do with the government… there are other factors involved. While film business has been affected all over the world due to new technological devices, they have found ways to counter it. They create magic through IMAX and other experiments etc in a big way which compels people to queue up to watch movies in theatres. We make some good films and some not-so-good ones, but we make so few of them that the ratio doesn’t matter.”

Will re-permitting Indian movies to screen in Pakistan make a difference? Mr Shah answered, “Indian movies should be screened here. You may remember when they were shown, people used to go to cinema houses in droves. There were houseful shows. As a result of that, people would also have a good look at posters for Pakistani films and watched them.”

Ehteshamuddin said, “We live in a global village. We get to see stuff being made in other countries. If we have Indian movies in our country footfall in cinemas will improve (cinema aabaad ho ga). Otherwise, the small number of theatres that we have, they might shut down. In that respect a policy could be made to see which films from across the border can be shown and which can’t. The policy should also entail that Indian distributors can screen our films if they want to.”

Seasoned actor Behroz Sabzawri expressed a similar opinion. He said, “The most important thing is we should give a free hand to our filmmakers. Reality-based films always work.”