Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
"someone" needs education on basics of cinema. Waar was one of the highest grossing films ever made. The revenue generated was remarkable considering we have less than 100 operating screens.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Yeah 'revenue' was remarkable. Who denied that? I just said in my last post Waar was the highest grossing Pakistani movie. If you read my post correctly, I said there has to be a MARKET for it. That means people have to make money on it. If I buy a car for $10000 and sell it for $10000, am I going to survive doing that for the rest of my life?
People are not going to continue to produce movies if they are not making money and that is the bitter truth. Waar had a budget of 20 crore and the distributor (ARY) spent another 4-5 crore on marketing. Now the movie did a business of 24 crore in its box office run. Highest grossing Pakistani movie of all time.
But did the producers make any money on it? None at all. They lost money on Waar because the revenue is divided between the producer, distributor, and cinema owners. You can make a few good movies this way but only temporarily until these big wig producers who have other businesses and ways to make money and want to produce movies as they want to help the industry.
This is not a long term solution. We badly need more theatres in Pakistan and people need to be encouraged to go watch and support Pakistani movies.
We need higher censorship. Censorship brings out creativity as evident by Irani cinema and Zia time cinema and TV of Pakistan.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Exactly TLK. Well said.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
We 're not going to start selling charas just because there's a market for it.
When Shoaib Mansoor made Sunehray din, did people go and ask him to make that play ? No. He made a classic and people appreciated it. He set the trend. This is media's responsibility. It should mould people's taste and guide their judgement.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
I think TLK you only meant Television under the Zia Regime not Cinema! Pakistani Film Industry cites the start of its decline in the 80's due to the harsh taxes and censorship.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Pakistani cinema 's decline started way before zia came to power.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
LOL Zia killed Pakistani cinema. I’m done arguing with anyone who says that’s not true. You go live in your bubble thinking Zia brought out the best of Pakistani cinema/drama. Please go read what the most famous artists went through during his time before spreading lies on the internet. I honestly wonder what kind of history you guys read to come up with such absurd conclusions. Boggles my mind.
Our film industry was booming before Zia. His decade killed the industry and the 90’s was the golden era of all the ‘gujjar’ crap that was coming out of Punjab that basically ruined our industry. You think item numbers these days are ‘behuda’ and cheap? I guess you haven’t witnessed those punjabi item numbers which take the word vulgar to the next level.
LOL! Gotta admit that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while though. Thanks for the joke of the day. 
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
LOL! yeah great example. Selling charas and making movies…very much alike. Try again
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Pakistani cinema 's decline started way before zia came to power.
That may be true, but to state that Zia brought out the best in CINEMA will be a fallacy. Television is another story because, yes we made brilliant TV during the 80's what with Tanhaiyyan, Ankahi, Aangan Tehra, Dhoop Kinaray etc.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Wanting Pakistanis to make films like "a separation" is to much to ask for?
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
^ In early 2000s with the emergence of number of new entertainment channels on the scene, Pakistan drama makers thought that let's try to replicate Star Plus drama themes because certain section of Pakistan population watches them. Geo was notorious for running such soaps, after a while Pakistani audience got sick of seeing B-grade of copies of Star Plus dramas, and wanted to see the return of short, well scripted and story oriented artistic productions.
Same thing will happen to film industry which is churning out B-grade copies of Bollywood movies. Pakistan film industry is still in the teething stage and it really cannot afford to develop an image and reputation for being mere burger imitation of Bollywood. There should be serious efforts for originality and creativity.
Are they still not running star plus clones because all of the ads on TV are of men slapping women and getting married to multiple women. And the highest trp earners still foreign content. So has pakistani content won. Not yet, not really. And let's not completely diminish our previous film industry's standing as a B grade copy of bollywood (because that's what you're doing when you look down on all popular media type movies). I think it stood well on its own.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Are they still not running star plus clones because all of the ads on TV are of men slapping women and getting married to multiple women. And the highest trp earners still foreign content. So has pakistani content won. Not yet, not really. And let's not completely diminish our previous film industry's standing as a B grade copy of bollywood (because that's what you're doing when you look down on all popular media type movies). I think it stood well on its own.
Nope. Star Plus is known for running 1000 episode long soaps and largely focusing on Saas Bahu dynamics. The current Pakistani dramas are heavily fixated on dramatising the lifestyle of a particular class who can afford to have second marriages and extra marital affairs with beautiful young girls.
I think you are proving my point - Pakistani film industry had always strived to look like a B-Grade copy of Bollywood and no wonder despite surviving a spell here and there, it could never sustain itself or even develop a strong foundation. Those who want to learn will certainly take a huge lesson from this.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Nope. Star Plus is known for running 1000 episode long soaps and largely focusing on Saas Bahu dynamics. The current Pakistani dramas are heavily fixated on dramatising the lifestyle of a particular class who can afford to have second marriages and extra marital affairs with beautiful young girls.
I think you are proving my point - Pakistani film industry had always strived to look like a B-Grade copy of Bollywood and no wonder despite surviving a spell here and there, it could never sustain itself or even develop a strong foundation. Those who want to learn will certainly take a huge lesson from this.
The same people who worked in bollywood itself shifted to lahore to make movies so if you think pristine and pak Pakistan doesn't have the same roots and independently decided to go the song and dance way just for the sake of imitation is looking at history with a very narrow viewpoint. Those producers made their money with successful movies and those stars got their adoring fans. They're dead now so I don't think they'll care how you choose to write their history. But I'm not even sure what we're arguing about. Originality, creativity are all important for me too. I want the audience to go for the serious cinema as well but they'll prefer the brainless salman Khan flick on the other screen so to not completely shove the entire audience away I'd rather we find a happy medium between art and crap.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
I don't know why you are assuming I am against music and dance in films just because I dislike item numbers? Two totally different things, right? To be honest, I really don't remember classic Indian and Pakistani cinema having item numbers. I think you might be confusing item numbers with normal music and dancing.
I'd love to see Pakistani films producing quality playback music. Again, it's about common sense, why would you copy the weakest points of Bollywood but not their strengths? How about producing movies like Lagaan or Barfi instead of blindly copying their Munni Badnaam's and Akshey Kumar brain dead comedies?
It's because of this thinking that just because Pakistani audience watches a certain types of Bollywood movies, let's start making those movies, and in that process you completely lose a huge amount of audience that desperately want to see something more original and different. It's the whole idea of let's blindly copy the 'popular Bollywood' culture which a single massive cause behind Pakistani industry not being able to sustain itself and build a proper foundation and an identity of its own.
Why should people watch a late and cheap copy of a someone's work just because it's a home grown production when they can easily enjoy the original?
Hollywood has a big following in Europe, but you do not see European film industry trying to compete with Hollywood at the expense of destroying their own unique cinematic culture.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
This is media's responsibility. It should mould people's taste and guide their judgement.
Isn't that the job of the ulema?
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
The same people who worked in bollywood itself shifted to lahore to make movies so if you think pristine and pak Pakistan doesn't have the same roots and independently decided to go the song and dance way just for the sake of imitation is looking at history with a very narrow viewpoint. Those producers made their money with successful movies and those stars got their adoring fans. They're dead now so I don't think they'll care how you choose to write their history. But I'm not even sure what we're arguing about. Originality, creativity are all important for me too. I want the audience to go for the serious cinema as well but they'll prefer the brainless salman Khan flick on the other screen so to not completely shove the entire audience away I'd rather we find a happy medium between art and crap.
Exactly. Very, very well said. That's precisely the point I'm trying to make.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Hollywood has a big following in Europe, but you do not see European film industry trying to compete with Hollywood at the expense of destroying their own unique cinematic culture.
EXACTLY! We can't have an imitation of Bollywood right next to it :/
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
You call that a movie??? HAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT A J**K!!! rather porn which is worse than charas!! you’re an example of its disasterous effects.
Re: Pakistan Cinema Revival?
Yes you are right. Porn is worse than Charas…LOL! I’m loving this.