A lot of excitement was generated in Pakistan’s film industry by films recently produced in co-operation with India. They were called co-productions but that is a misnomer because all that some Pakistani film-makers used were technical facilities, background singers and choreographers from Bollywood. The films were neither jointly financed nor shown in both the countries.
Another aspect of these films stressed by some segments of the industry was that they would be instrumental in putting Pakistani cinema in a more smooth gear and induce it into producing films of better, all-round appeal. That did not happen simply because there was no room in the arrangement for positive impact on Pakistan’s industry. Firstly, these productions lacked an institutional base and secondly, the Pakistani industry was not in any position to benefit from it.
The problems of Pakistani cinema are superannuated filming and recording equipment that belongs to the distant past and the crude processing and printing process run inefficiently. The situation is compounded by an untrained work force comprising directors, actors and technicians, except a few cinematographers and film editors who are severely handicapped by redundant tools.
Seeking support from the Indian cinema isn’t a new development. Film-making duo and studio owners Shehzad Gul and Sajjad Gul had opened this route about a decade back and actor director Javaid Shaikh followed in 2003. They benefited through improved professional output that was financially rewarded at the box-office.
Their work was not co-productions by any stretch of imagination but represented growing dissatisfaction among seriously inclined film-makers about the superannuated technical and professional set up of Pakistani cinema. They sought to upgrade these areas to a more sophisticated level if not to internationally acceptable standards.
Bombay (renamed Mumbai) is, in so many ways, a contagious point from Lahore. It possesses in abundance what the Pakistani industry vastly lacks. Moreover, the cinema of both the countries stems from the same origin and has followed similar directions. The two industries in fact still stick to similar themes though Pakistani films do so crudely while India has graduated to a higher level of professionalism.
While Indian culture is distinct from that of Pakistan, it does not represent unfamiliar environments to most Pakistanis. Local film-makers felt comfortable working in Bollywood; personal links of many Pakistani film-makers with members of India’s film industry strengthened the connection and made working in India easy. An additional attraction for some film-makers may have been the liberal climate of Bombay.
Iran also has a technologically advanced, flourishing, productive and quality-oriented film industry. Language and cultural differences have, however, kept Pakistani producers and directors at a distance from Tehran.
The popularity of Indian movies in Pakistan through unauthorized video, CD and DVD versions also seem to have been a factor in film-makers turning towards the world’s most prolific film industry for according their work a contemporary and populist dimension.
There was actually nothing reportable in that because film-makers conscious of the need for better technical values had been getting their footage processed and printed abroad, mostly in Thailand; processing laboratories in London were also tried. Bangkok was preferred due to the lower rates its labs quoted, easier visa conditions and less expensive air passage and hotel bills as also because many members of Pakistani film industry found working conditions in that country relaxed and entertainment openings accessible while the attitude of superiority they confronted in England was upsetting, if not unnerving.
Bangkok treated them as equal while they were inferior species for London. It was by and large the same in India though not for every member of the local industry. That is the reason why the movement towards Bollywood did not gain much momentum. But knocking at the doors of neighbouring countries for making better films with potential for good business was something local film-makers had been doing for years. They had pursued collaboration with Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the 1980s but gave that up after failure to identify a common denominator for sustaining the interest of all stakeholders on a long-term basis.
The link with Bollywood has been uncertain and irregular and actually snapped after a few films because it wasn’t an institutional arrangement but personal initiative by individuals. Co-operation was underhand to the extent that contributions of Indian technicians and other professionals went unacknowledged in credits. That somewhat reduced financial mileage from films produced with any professional support from Bollywood. The Gul brothers turned to India for their productions Ghar Kab Aao Gay, Tere Pyar Mein and Chalo Ishq Larain.
They have not produced any film for some time. Actor-director Javaid Shaikh took up their lead with Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua. Both Ghar and Yeh Dil were commercial hits, while public reaction to the other two movies remained subdued, underlining the fact that films click or crack on more than technical counts. However, after Shaikh’s YDAKH, one expected to see more film-makers seek support from India. But that did not happen till Salakhain was released last year. It was another notable success. One reason why there wasn’t a rush towards Mumbai is the considerable addition to the film budget while most local movies are low-investment productions.
Nevertheless, the government’s policy of appeasement and better relations with India has become instrumental in reviving the sagging link. The success of Salakhain by director Shehzad Rafiq had little to do with restoring severed links between the two industries. The policy of confidence building measures led to a sudden proliferation of films with India’s professional support during the current year.
Movies by director-actor Ajab Gul (Kyun Tum Se Itna Pyar Hai) and debutante director Imran Malik (Tere Bin Jiya Na Jaye) benefited from the Bollywood connection and fared somewhat reasonably at the box-office. But one must remember that Ajab Gul was successful with his first venture all on his own and, if anything, his second film is not to be favourably compared with his first on many counts.
Both Imran Malik and Gul faltered in casting, and the latter by playing the main role. These and some other avoidable faults kept their work short of notable commercial success though Gul did considerably better than Malik. He came up with better a product because of his experience as Salakhain had earlier hit the jackpot.
Mubasshar Lucman, another director with a Bolloywood link has publicized his film, Pehla Pehla Pyar, for the better part of the current year but he is yet to release it. Nothing is to be said about it at this stage. Actress Reema’s Koi Tujh Sa Kahan has been what the industry calls a hit but it is not exactly a routine Pakistan-India movie; the industry describes it as an out and out Indian production with the name of the actress heading the credits as director. Pakistan’s contribution to the movie has been quite limited. That way, it has been more of a joint production than any other movie placed in that bracket.
While almost all films produced under the Bollywood umbrella of some sort have been commercially successful, they have added nothing to the local industry. Technical standards of purely Pakistani productions have not deviated from the past and their other aspects have not registered even a semblance of improvement. At the same time, it can be said that the Indian connection may have helped those who can comprehend the demands of present-day cinema may to realize their shortcomings.
This impact is certain and more so as most directors who appear conscious of the need for better quality and improved packaging of their products are from the young generation. The importance of quality has, in fact, rubbed on some other professionals, too. Director Sangeeta, the mainstay of film business in Pakistan with five to six movies every year has publicized Daku Haseena, her Eid-ul-Fitr offering, as “the first Punjab film to be made on ‘dts’ system.” Unfortunately, there aren’t many producers and directors qualified for significantly enhancing the level of their work.
More regrettably, no effort is yet in evidence for upgrading Pakistani cinema’s existing technical facilities. Unless that is done, there would be little reason to expect a change for the better, let alone transformation of the cinema into a competitive professional industry. The positive side of the Indian connection is awareness of the importance of quality among many local film-makers.
Another point that needs to be stressed is that if local film-makers were truly professional and (of course) if they were backed by sound and sufficient investment, there is no compulsion to look beyond the borders of Pakistan. This does not mean ignoring the importance of installing state-of-the-art technology in the industry, but only to underline that the most complete movie produced in the last about five years achieved optimum professional results with wholly indigenous resources.
I refer to director Rauf Khalid’s Laaj produced in 2003. It had all that a film requires to distinguish itself in the international market. But tastes have been so distorted by questionable work below even the elementary level of film-making that it did not receive the reception it merited. Not only the level of the industry, but also that of viewers needs to be upgraded.