I am ready to make a film in Balochistan for its people: Syed Noor
Veteran film-maker believes regional content is not given enough importance
Noor has been working in the industry since 1984’s Judai. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Regional languages such as Brahvi, Balochi and Pashto have historically been overlooked in the Pakistani entertainment industry, ever since its inception. Be it in the form of music, films or TV shows, these particular brands of content have rarely ever been given priority. Veteran Lollywood director Syed Noor is planning to change that.
Noor has singlehandedly shouldered the responsibility of Pakistani cinema for years now. The film-maker has given many newcomers their big breaks and experimented with a variety of projects. Now, he is ready to break away from the Punjabi and Urdu content he has been making for the past 10 years and wants to shoot a film in Balochistan for the Baloch people.
Noor recently expressed his desire to make a film based on and in the province. He was speaking at a session at FocusPk16 on Sunday, about finding solutions to existing problems plaguing regional content in the industry. The panelists included veteran actor Seemi Raheel, Abdullah star Hameed Shaikh, Pashto cinema actor Ajab Gul and Noor himself. “I believe we should make more content in regional languages. Every person in the industry should take this responsibility and promote their respective language and culture. They shouldn’t stop,” added the director.
Noor went on to say that cinema should give more weightage to regional content. “In India, the cinema owners are asked to give weightage to regional content otherwise they won’t be given license to screen films,” he said. Hameed echoed his sentiments, highlighted how Balochi, as a language, has not been given its fair share of representation in the industry. “Balochistan has been left behind in every field, including the entertainment sector. I believe its regional content should be promoted in order to keep the culture alive,” he claimed. “Films made in regional languages should be translated into Urdu and shown in mainstream cinemas, if the content is strong.”
Gul also spoke on the matter, adding that the Pathans wish to see their culture but not enough content is being created in their language. “Pathans want to listen to songs in their language and view their culture on-screen but there are no theatres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. People in Peshawar have to travel to Islamabad to watch movies,” he revealed.
Pathans, said Gul, are very fond of arts and entertainment. “Despite all the security threats, people in Peshawar haven’t given up on art,” he said. According to him, the ban on Indian films is a great opportunity to revive local cinema. “It is the ideal time to revive our regional film industry and make local films focusing on our regional content to fill the void created by the ban,” Gul explained.
Seemi shared it is unfortunate that kids in our part of the world haven’t been exposed to regional content. “My kids have never seen regional music instruments being played on TV — and they are thirty plus!” she said. The actor believes Pakistanis have hidden their culture because they are subconsciously embarrassed of it and continuing on the same path will eventually, culminate in an identity crisis. “We are giving away our most exotic cultural values! We are trying to compete with the Western world but we will definitely fail.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2016.
Regional languages such as Brahvi, Balochi and Pashto have historically been overlooked in the Pakistani entertainment industry, ever since its inception. Be it in the form of music, films or TV shows, these particular brands of content have rarely ever been given priority. Veteran Lollywood director Syed Noor is planning to change that.
Noor has singlehandedly shouldered the responsibility of Pakistani cinema for years now. The film-maker has given many newcomers their big breaks and experimented with a variety of projects. Now, he is ready to break away from the Punjabi and Urdu content he has been making for the past 10 years and wants to shoot a film in Balochistan for the Baloch people.
Noor recently expressed his desire to make a film based on and in the province. He was speaking at a session at FocusPk16 on Sunday, about finding solutions to existing problems plaguing regional content in the industry. The panelists included veteran actor Seemi Raheel, Abdullah star Hameed Shaikh, Pashto cinema actor Ajab Gul and Noor himself. “I believe we should make more content in regional languages. Every person in the industry should take this responsibility and promote their respective language and culture. They shouldn’t stop,” added the director.
Noor went on to say that cinema should give more weightage to regional content. “In India, the cinema owners are asked to give weightage to regional content otherwise they won’t be given license to screen films,” he said. Hameed echoed his sentiments, highlighted how Balochi, as a language, has not been given its fair share of representation in the industry. “Balochistan has been left behind in every field, including the entertainment sector. I believe its regional content should be promoted in order to keep the culture alive,” he claimed. “Films made in regional languages should be translated into Urdu and shown in mainstream cinemas, if the content is strong.”
Gul also spoke on the matter, adding that the Pathans wish to see their culture but not enough content is being created in their language. “Pathans want to listen to songs in their language and view their culture on-screen but there are no theatres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. People in Peshawar have to travel to Islamabad to watch movies,” he revealed.
Pathans, said Gul, are very fond of arts and entertainment. “Despite all the security threats, people in Peshawar haven’t given up on art,” he said. According to him, the ban on Indian films is a great opportunity to revive local cinema. “It is the ideal time to revive our regional film industry and make local films focusing on our regional content to fill the void created by the ban,” Gul explained.
Seemi shared it is unfortunate that kids in our part of the world haven’t been exposed to regional content. “My kids have never seen regional music instruments being played on TV — and they are thirty plus!” she said. The actor believes Pakistanis have hidden their culture because they are subconsciously embarrassed of it and continuing on the same path will eventually, culminate in an identity crisis. “We are giving away our most exotic cultural values! We are trying to compete with the Western world but we will definitely fail.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2016.