Lollywood won’t let Bollywood butt in
Press Trust of India
Islamabad, December 9
Pakistani film producers on Tuesday vowed to stymie any bid by their Indian counterparts to have a ban on Indian films lifted, saying the raunchy Indian movies were a threat to Pakistani morality.
“We are totally against allowing Indian movies to run in Pakistani theatres,” Mian Amjad Farzand, chairman of the Pakistan Film Producers Association, told AFP.
“There is a big difference between their culture and ours. Indian movies shown on satellite and cable television and hired out by video shops have already damaged the moral fabric of our society.”
Indian films have been banned in Pakistan for more than four decades and Bollywood, the headquarters of the Indian film industry in Bombay, was seen as a threat to Pakistan’s much smaller film industry Lollywood, based in Lahore.
But Bollywood is hugely popular in Pakistan as pirate copies of films are common.
Farzand said the Pakistani producers’ stance was based not on fear of Indian movies killing the Pakistani industry, but on morality.
“This is not a question of business, it’s a question of protecting our culture,” he said.
Politics also played a role, he conceded.
The president of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) Sawaan Kumar announced Sunday the group will seek a meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to ask him to lift the ban on their films.
I don't particularly like Indian movies, nor do I like Pakistani movies all that much (yeah, its me :p) but the arguments by Mian Amjad Farzand sahab, don't sound quite so innocent or plausible.
There are plenty of Indian movies viewed by Pakistani people anyway, either thru legal/illegal cable channels or movie rentals. Songs of Indian music are freely sold in Pak music stores.
Pakistani movies are not saviors of Pakistani culture anyway, and based on viewing movies from 1960's (thanks to the defunct Shaheen TV channel) all the way to 1990's and 2000, anyone can see that the newer Pak movies are trying to incorporate the same masala elements from their Indian counterparts. Dresses are getting tighter and skimpier and the love scenes are getting explicit by the year.
If Mian Amjad Farzand sahab tries to be honest, the real reason why the Film industry opposes Indian movies being shown in Pak theaters is money. They know that standard of Pak movies is low, and people will flock to see Indian movies in theaters. I don't think other than Pak Film industry folks, anyone else will be losing their sleep over this issue.
There are some people in Pak, who oppose all kinds of movies, so for them be it Indian, be it American or be it Pakistan.. all movies are vulgar and haraam. Then there are some who will unashamedly watch any Bolly/Holly/Lollywood movie they can lay their hands on. And the last category are the middleware, folks who oppose Indian movies at the top of their lungs (whether they see them in the privacy of their homes is irrelevant) and will forever want people in Pak to watch and support our local film industry by watching more Lollywood productions.
Its only the latter who feel that Indian movies threaten our culture, our religion, the basis of Pakistan and will provide an unnecessary medium of propaganda to Indians.
*this iz a basless argument, 1st of all, indian movies / music etc r avaiable on vcd’s or audio casettes or cd’s all over azad kashmir & pakistani stores!!! even though pakistani government banned indian channells ppl are still able 2 gain access to satellite signals illegally and some get through no problemo, like my friends back @ home sweet home in my village have successfully done so and they r watchin’ sony tv, star plus etc for free clever sods.
anyways every shop selling musical cd’s and movies in pak wil have on der hi fi’s indian pop music or numbers from latest or old indian films i have hardly ever hard pakistani songs being given preference by paki shops over indian.
man pakistani government can try harder to ban vcd’s of indian movies & music being sold in pak even den the public won’t watch the pakistani made films with the same interest as the bare fact is pakistani movies are pants with the odd hit like larki punjaban and ye dil aap ka huwa once a decade + with actors and actresses who have poor acting skills and speech on top of many other cons … et cetera cetera et cetera
i don’t want to do more pakistani bazeeti. so i’ll kindly rest my case*
Keeping it banned but still let people have access to those movies is the best policy of paki government. This way, you avoid facing everyone who is against it at the same time you avoid facing everyone who is in favor of it. Its always that third way when it comes to things like that.
There is a big difference between their culture and ours. Indian movies shown on satellite and cable television and hired out by video shops have already damaged the moral fabric of our society."
And Pakistani movies have IMPROVED the moral fabric of our society? Yeah, Anjuman's thumkas and jhutkas have inspired so many young pakistani women to feel free adding the extra unhealthy 50 lbs and dancing to any man's ishaara. Morality at its best.
I say lift the ban, indian movies are a lot better than MOST films produced in Pakistan, with the exception of a few. And also like it has been said already, indian films are available in every corner of Pakistan anyway so make it official. I think Pakistan should keep a ban on any anti Pakistani or anti Muslim film only!!!!!
IMO its a tricky question. I don’t watch Indian/pakistani movies but going from the ads on Geo TV, the Pak movies are getting just as vulgar just as Indian movies. Besides if we are allowed to watch Hollywood with all its explicities on the big screen, why not Bollywood? So I say lift the ban. Better yet, merge the two industries. The initial enthusiasm of watching the actors from both sides on the border coming together will ensure LollyBolly health for at least five years. After that clamp the ban once again. Wait five years and merge again. Repeat.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by STARSAT86: *
I say lift the ban, indian movies are a lot better than MOST films produced in Pakistan, with the exception of a few. And also like it has been said already, indian films are available in every corner of Pakistan anyway so make it official. I think Pakistan should keep a ban on any anti Pakistani or anti Muslim film only!!!!!
[/QUOTE]
LUC i don’t mean this to belittle you or anything like that. MOD PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS AN HONEST QUESTION AND I AM NOT TRYING TO BREAK ANY RULES OR ANYTHING. anyway LUC, are you gay. for a guy you seem to be awfully into these bolly movies and stuff. from what i can gather you passionately post these bolly topics like there is no tommorow. lot of guys watch these bolly movies but with you its kinda like a obsession or something. its kinda freaky. again this is the year 2003 so i don’t want you to think that i am making fun of you or anything but your obsession with these song and dance numbers are, you have to admit, a little weird. i mean i don’t see any guys at my school coming to school and gossiping about what actor or actresses are making a comeback or whos pregnant. y’know, we talk about “guy” stuff.
even in this forum all the guys restrict themselves mostly to other topics like sports, politics, religion, their lives and what not. don’t get me wrong, even i post in shor sharaba about Fuzon, noori, EP, new pak dramas and what not but i am in no shape or form just obsessed with the “entertainment” bizness. bhai, i don’t want you to think that i’m some kinda homophobic or anything. please don’t take it the wrong way.
buddy its you that needs to grow up. way to go, you have turned a serious question into a joke. tell me, what are they teaching at 5th grade right now.
buddy its you that needs to grow up. way to go, you have turned a serious question into a joke. tell me, what are they teaching at 5th grade right now.
[/QUOTE]
^ Hold on guys, everyone is entitled to his/her own views :)
In my humble opinion
The only way to improve local film industry is to allow some healthy Competition. Pakistani movies were excelent when both pakistani and indian movies Simultaneously shown in pakistan and india(before 1965)
But the government should take into consideration the local industry's reservations.
here are my two cents...
**1. If pakistan allows indian movies to be shown in pakistan then india should follow the suit.
First year, only one movie should be shown in pakistan and india(on experimental basis) to see ppl's interest and to give ample time to pakistani film industry to pruduce quality fims for showing in india.
3.As pakistani film industory can not compette with its counterpart in terms of finance, manpower, technology. So the number of cross-border movies should be limited to 2 or 3 per year maximum.**
it's not my problem that you can't differentiate between, "you're a fag nah nah nah nah naaa" and "are you gay" same goes for star86. PCG like i said before, there is nothing wrong with watching movies but there is something fundamentally wrong with a guy who is just obsessed with the movies. if it was sports i would have no problem. like i said before, my comments were not meant to belittle anyone, i just asked a simple, honest question. you tell me, does that justify star86 and yasir to call me immature. if i didn't know any better i would think they are LUC's little boyfriends or something.
Re: Should Pakistan lift the ban on Bollywood films?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Marathi Maanus: *
Lollywood won't let Bollywood butt in
Press Trust of India
Islamabad, December 9
Farzand said the Pakistani producers' stance was based not on fear of Indian movies killing the Pakistani industry, but on morality.
"This is not a question of business, it's a question of protecting our culture," he said.
[/QUOTE]
Farzand dude, thats a lot of BS. Lollywood films can so damn vulgar - go watch Sher-e-Lahore, or any Gujjar flick. The obscene, Z-grade, crude dances that form majority of the song and dance sequences in these films have not been witnessed in Bollywood in ages.
Atleast Bollywood does it with a certain class. So Mr Farzand, dont start pooping in your pants now that the Indies are coming in - it was meant to be that way.
You ******ers never pulled up your act together - for the past 50 years u producers did not invest in upgrading the studio equipment, neither have you kept up with the global trends. You deserve it.
Its the law of natural selection - if you dont evolve you are destroyed. What a pity, our industry has been in the hands of such uneducated Red LIght Area Ganglords for the past 50 years. No wonder it's in such a mess.
Bollywood is definitely more progressive, though I do have my issues against it (Pakistan bashing being one, too much focus on sex/nudity being the other). But these jaahil, doodhwala producers of Lollywood deserve to go bankrupt, for giving such crass entertainment to the masses for the 50 years.
clever sods.
+ with actors and actresses who have poor acting skills and speech on top of many other cons … et cetera cetera et cetera
I think this just about sums it up very nicely.