The matinee show: Films, music and much more in Peshawar

Last year, industry produced around 17 feature films, for first time people were able to view them in high definition.

PESHAWAR/ KARACHI:

Pashto cinema received a lot of publicity in 2013 – first Meera jumped over from Lollywood, then internationally published stories on the city’s dying film and blossoming porn industry went viral.

What they forgot to mention was that last year, the industry produced around 17 feature films and for the first time people were able to view them in high definition.

Some of the big money makers this year were: Bodyguard, Munafiq, Pekhawary Badmash, Sher Khan, Mast Malang, Zadi Pukhtoon, Gherat, Lofar, Shart, Qurbani and Love Story.



Zama Arman, was the biggest hit of the year. It is still running at Shama Cinema, and also did good business across the border in Afghanistan. Starring Arbaz Khan, Sobia Khan and Jahangir Khan, Zama Arman is a high-budget romance movie with zero violence and tasteful music.

The producer of the film, Liaquat Ali Khan, said the government and public should support their efforts. Khan is currently working on a new movie due to be released in the first week of 2014 – Badnaam.

Muzafar Khan’s Gandagir, is a typical Pashto film with lots of blood and gore peppered with more violence. Directed by Nadir Khan, the film was released in HD and also did exceptionally well at the box office.

In August 2013, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s home ministry imposed a five-year ban on Pashto movies for not obtaining certification from the Federal Censor Board. However, despite the ban, the films were screened as the cinema owners claimed to have permission from the Sindh Board of Film Censors.

Meera starred in one of the most awaited films of the year. It was a remake of a 1971 classic of the same name, Orbal. Directed and produced by Arshad Khan, the film is based on the tradition of Swara, where tribes barter their daughters to settle feuds. The original was made by the director’s father, Sardar Khan Lala. The actress is currently busy shooting for another film by the same director.

I love rock’n’roll

Last year Peshawar lost not only a music curator but a window to an illustrious past, in the demise of Masood Ahmed Paracha. The entrepreneur who set up the city’s oldest and biggest record store, Teen Beat, has left behind a void that will be near impossible to fill.

Music in the region has already witnessed a withering due to the conflict it has become the centre stage of in the past few years. Perhaps this is why a revival of the art form will need more than just musicians willing to fight the odds.

Ismail and Junaid is one such band. The duo released their third offering Pakhwa based on the poetry of famous Pashto poet Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari. Junaid Javed, who plays guitar and does backing vocals in the outfit, says it’s all about repackaging folk music along with modern instruments to present a new face of Pashto music.

Even with the ban on YouTube still in place, newer artists are reaching out to more people in different areas. Even with no live performances, a steady stream of well-made yet cost-effective videos can ensure an appreciative audience – without having to take unnecessary security risks.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2014.