A few thoughts about this disheartening feel. This is a positive sign for the “industry.” How? For once, the industry professionals who like their indian counterparts, are used to creating things on the fly…sometimes embarking on projects without even a finished script! The small number of movies means the Pakistanis can concentrate on quality then quantity. With this amount of films coming out, there is absolutely no pressure to pleasure the mind-dead masses of the subcontinent who like unrealistic lolipop musicals. The lollywood professionals can actually focus on serious films that don’t need to impress anyone. They can create art and experiment.
Out of the mentioned films above, I actually did see the two Urdu films that were released this year. Technique, production value, “acting,” were identical or “up to par” with any indian movie. What I am trying to say is, that a sane person who doesn’t watch indian or pakistani movies would not be able to tell the difference between the two.
What I am trying to say was, that while the quality of these few films has drastically improved, it is very close to rewriting cinema in Pakistan. There are 7 Film schools in Pakistan. I’ve visited 4 of them, and not all of them are in Lahore or Karachi. Interest in Independent cinema is on the rise in Pakistan, and there are atleast 30-40 independently made feature films by film students in Pakistan just this year. They do not count as lollywood, because they aren’t funded by any of the studios.