A few months ago, during Eid-ul-Fitr, around five Pakistani movies were released across the country and claimed to revive the Lollywood film industry. However, a Hollywood film entered the cinemas and allegedly messed with the viewership of Pakistani movies. A new debate sparked in the film fraternity, and all producers claimed that the local films should be supported. But the audience thought otherwise and criticised the content and claim of the producers.
The quarrel regarding the revival of the film industry urged me to trace back the reasons for the fall of Lollywood. Not surprisingly, the demise of our film industry began in the same decade when Pakistan lost its eastern wing. It all started in 1977 when General Zia-ul-Haq took over as the new administrator of the country and tried to control journalism with the Press Gagging Act because the country was going through a 'delicate time'. Then a series of censorship laws were applied to the film industry in the form of the Motion Picture Ordinance of 1979.
To inquire more deeply about the decisions imposed on Lollywood, how they affected the overall quality of films, the further destruction, and how our current cinema is still affected by them needed a deep-rooted discussion. The first stop was the press club, where the Chairperson of the Film TV & Journalist Association, Athar Jawed Sufi, and a seasoned entertainment journalist, Akhtar Ali Akhtar, shed light on the era that deteriorated the Pakistan film industry.
Censorship and lack of interest
As mentioned before, the problems started by imposing the Motion Ordinance Picture 1979 which stated, "A film shall not be certified for public exhibition if, in the opinion of the Board, the film or any part thereof is prejudicial to the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or amounts to the commission of, or incitement to, an offence."
Athar Jawed Sufi, aka Sufi Sahab, was the part of censor board committee from 1979-1983, and couldn't agree more that the conditions applied by General Zia caused several problems for filmmakers. "I am one of those few unlucky people who were part of the censor board. Zia's orders regarding censorship were so strict that the basic structure of the film was disrupted. He banned romantic scenes and told actresses to carry a dupatta on their heads. As a result, many film directors left filmmaking and subsequently many potential producers also left the industry," said Sufi adding that many financers misused the void and started working as 'film producers' pushing the situation worse.
When asked about the credibility of censor board members and whether they possess the required knowledge for giving their verdict about films, Sufi shook his head left to right in sorrow. "What I remember is that a censor board member use to get hardly Rs 400 for one film from the government. No member of the board is chosen by viewing their qualification and are usually picked based on their PR," revealed Sufi.
Akhtar who has been covering the Lollywood industry for a long time joined the conversation and pointed out that despite several issues, Lollywood did commendable work during the 1980s. However, he called out the government for not recognising it as a proper Industry. "Our industry did great work during the 1980s, but no government came forward to support and recognise it as an industry. There should have been a mechanism where banks were involved for proper financing and easy loans. We have damaged our industry with our own hands," remarked Akhtar.
The entertainment journalist went back to times when Karachi used to be a hub of cinema houses and a centre of entertainment. "There was an era when Karachi had the highest number of cinema houses, located from New Karachi and stretched to Kimari. Now we have only a few screens across Pakistan. Film Industry does not have a medium to showcase its work, and probably that is why our five films flopped during Eid-ul-Fitr," said Akhtar. He also pointed out that earlier there was just one censor board in Islamabad, but now every province has its censor board. Hence more problems are created for filmmakers to showcase their work.
In parallel to the hurdles created for moviemakers, there was a subtle yet 'effective' political chaos which disrupted several sectors, and the film industry was one of them. To reveal those underlying facts of 1977-1990, another entertainment journalist hailing from that time started to unfold the next page of the story.
The beginnings of turmoil
Ashraf Memon was only 17 and a freelance journalist when Lollywood was slowly sinking like the Titanic. He use to cover the premier of every film, which starred legends like Waheed Murad, Rani, Nadeem, Shabnam, M.Ali, Zeba and many more. Ashraf said that he was habitual of watching movies in the cinema, but slowly the political chaos took the entertainment away from him and from society.
"Our country went through a huge political turmoil during the 80s. I was the person who use to watch First Day First Show, but then our focus shifted to political activities and party gatherings, and we slowly parted ways with entertainment. Our division in nationalism fueled the decline of the industry," said Ashraf. The hurdles and unnecessary bans of movies amalgamated with political problems urged many filmmakers to leave the industry. Subsequently, the cinema houses started to convert into shopping malls and plazas. During the 1970s, we had over 1300 cinemas, and by the 1990s the number dropped to just 35 cinema houses. Most cinema owners shifted their businesses to different sectors. The harsh censorship laws forced some filmmakers to leave Pakistan including Jamil Dehlvi. His work like Blood of Hussain was immediately banned, and he even received death threats for this film.
He shared an observation that those thoughts and political beliefs have travelled to the current time, and our people are still tangled in various political movements. According to him, culture and entertainment cannot grow in situations like these. The former movie enthusiast pointed toward another serious problem of expensive cinema houses. "The declining economy has also demoralised us to watch movies. If I take my kids and wife out to watch a movie, then I have to spend between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. These cinemas are for the upper class, where are cinemas for the middle and lower class like old times?" he asked a very pertinent question.
The point he brought up about cinemas for the masses felt correct to some extent. However, there are several low-budget cinemas in Saddar- Karachi alone, but families do not want to go there mainly because of the gentry. Usually 'families' do not prefer these cinema halls as they don't feel safe there. The only choice they have are the lavish multiplexes where a ticket has a minimum rate of Rs800.
Let's do the math here to make sure we're on right track. A family of four people (two adults and two children) will buy a ticket for Rs 800, costing them Rs 3,200. Then they'll buy refreshments (let us take 500 per head), costing them another Rs 2,000. If we leave transportation expenses aside, then watching one film has cost them Rs 5,200. Hence middle-class families, students, and roadside vendors do not have the option of low-budget film entertainment.
The after-effects of our earlier decisions have badly affected the film sector. Even the specific part of society that could afford to watch movies at the cinema refused when they had the option of Hollywood films. The only solution our government suggested was to halt the release of any foreign film while Pakistani films are screened.
The situation could be rectified if our content stands out in some departments. However, our filmmakers of today believe that they produced quality content and asked people to support cinema. An unbiased opinion of a film expert would tell more about the cinema of today and what role quality storytelling can play. Fahamuddin Haqqi, a media studies professor, had a simple and concise conclusion on the matter.
Cinema of today: poor content, weak execution
Being a film professor in several reputable institutes like Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science & Technology, Sindh Madressatul Islam University, and currently at Greenwich University, Faham has a deep understanding of content quality. On the question regarding the quality of content, he bluntly replied that most locally produced films had no standard. He added that filmmakers have not been able to differentiate between the treatment of a film and a television drama.
"Every movie which has stand-out content will survive. Right now we don't have proper film directors. Except for Kamli, no movie has impressed. The call 'support cinema' makes no sense as our content is very weak. You cannot show a silver screen material on a cinema screen," said Faham.
As a university teacher, he unveiled that many institutions claim to teach films but don't even have the required equipment, which results in filmmakers who have weak execution. However, Faham was optimistic for better times to come as many institutions provide all the required facilities and equipment.
When asked about the effects of poor decisions in past that dragged the film industry to destruction, Faham believed that moving on was the best thing to do. "We cannot keep weeping on past that affected the industry. Let's just learn from it and move on. There is no point in blaming each other now," he expressed.
Since he deals with hundreds of students every day, who will be the future of the film industry, the professor said that we have a talent for every department, but it will take another ten years to enter the revival phase. He clarified that revival means that films are released on weekly basis at both national and provincial levels. As for the censorship issues, he optimistically said that no one could stop the flow of change.
"Remember when Patris Bukhari said that his whole life roamed around books? Similarly, for a filmmaker, the film is its entire life.
Let's take Sarmand for example. His films were banned, but that did not stop him. If you'll take him down, someone else will come and continue his work," he commented.
As he mentioned about the future generation, it was necessary to see what the young film students think and do they have a vision for the film industry.
Revival on the horizon?
Before leaving the premises of Faham's office, some media students agreed to spare a minute and share their points of view. When asked whether they'll watch any of the Pakistani movies in the cinema they all looked at each other and passed a sardonic laugh before answering.
"The first thing that bothers me is the inclusion of drama actors as film stars. How can I watch these faces both in drama and big screen?" said a female student. A similar point to what Faham said earlier about treatment. Even Mahira Khan and Fahad Mustafa said in an interview that they want to leave behind the image of drama actors.
One of the students pointed out that most films feel like a two-hour-long advertisement of a brand that has financed them. It was astonishing to see that the whole group endorsed the point. "I feel brands are disrupting the storyline of the film. I understand that filmmaker needs money but there should be balance," said a student in the third semester.
While talking to them it was evident that the only option they have is to work for production houses that make dramas or in the advertisement sector. They also felt that industry giants are not allowing them to put forward a different approach. "I've tried several times but these producers don't want to leave the redundant procedure. They won't allow us to think and apply something out of the box," expressed a student sophomore year.
Nevertheless, they want to make films and believe to bring necessary change. Since media students make films for projects and exams a visit was made to a project film shot by the students of SZABIST to closely monitor their approach. There were many interesting observations that day. The group of five students had all the required equipment but suffered to find a location to shoot an interrogation scene. However, with the use of just two lights, they converted a conference room into a police interrogation room.
It was amusing to see the dedication of young students to create a short film that stands out in acting and storytelling. The two main individuals on the set were Director Rohail and D.O.P Jazeb. Irrespective of the flaws their execution had, the main motive was to know what thinking they posses and are they even willing to contribute to the revival of the film industry.
"Mostly we are tied by the trends and had to follow them unwillingly. As a result, we see monotonous content. As an aspiring cinematographer, I want to at least try making a change in our film world," expressed Jazeb.
When asked about the future of films by the captain of this student film, he pointed out a very important factor that drags us back: a good writer.
"Industry is in problem as we don't come up with good ideas. We need writers who can tell a compelling story. I'm working my way up there and think I can bring a change in storytelling," said Rohail with a hopeful sound. Their enthusiasm reflects that there is a whole army of filmmakers that can create a change. But we need to take multiple steps so they can have a proper 'film industry' to work. We need to bring reforms by making necessary changes in the Motion Picture Ordinance that still follows the 1979 rules. Since Pakistan's majority population is the middle and lower middle class we need cinema houses for the masses. Importantly, if a proper revival is needed a change in the style of filmmaking is needed at the time so treatment of film, drama and advertisement can be differentiated.