Screening Indian content

HYDERABAD: The government decided to continue with the policy of screening international films, which means Indian content can now be shown in Pakistani cinemas that was previously banned. The self-imposed ban on Indian content was a good step to promote the Pakistani film industry. We are smashing our own industry by giving the green light to Indian movies in Pakistan during a time in which we are not on the level of competing with them. We may be in the future, but are not at the present. Ashar Azeem, the writer and the leading hero of the Pakistani movie Maalik, said, “we don’t say we will compete with [the] Indian industry but at least give us a platform to stand in competition, our own Pakistani cinemas cast Indian movies more than Pakistani movies if both are released on same date.”



Our industry can produce the best in the world but this can only be possible if you provide a chance to do so. When Indian movies were banned, Pakistani movies were getting a great response. This shows that the survival of Pakistani cinema does not depend on Indian movies; we can survive in a better way. Banning Indian movies is not a solution but let them be banned until our own industry grows up to compete with them.

Engr Talat Aziz Rustamani

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2017.

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