Operation 021: Producers speak out against Bambino, Capri, Dreamland cinemas

Film-makers complain of injustice by the cinema owners.

KARACHI:

The action-packed thriller, Operation 021, expected to be the biggest draw at the Pakistani box office this Eidul Azha, opened instead to jeering crowds at three of Pakistan's famous single-screen cinemas: the Bambino, Capri and Dreamland.

The producers of Pakistan's first spy-thriller addressed a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday, complaining that their product had been treated unfairly by the cinema owners. According to a news report published earlier, the cinema owners were forced to take down the film after bottles were thrown at the screen and chaos ensued in the cinemas.

One of the producers of the film, Zeba Bakhtiar, remarked: "The reason I'm here is not to talk about our film, Operation 021, but to talk about how the three cinema owners took down our film just after 25 minutes' screening, without informing us or the distributors."

The actor-turned-producer claimed they were raising their voice against these cinema owners not to defend their product but for the greater good of the Pakistani film industry.

The film's director, Jami Mehmood concurred. "If people are saying the film is not up to the mark, how is it doing excellent business in all the other cinemas across the country?" he questioned.



Muhammad Rizwan, an assistant manager at Distribution Club, the company that distributed the film, claimed they would be taking legal action against the cinema owners.

"The events at Capri, Bambino and Dreamland have not only damaged the business of the film, but our reputation as a distribution company as well," he said. "We will be taking legal action against these cinema owners and will also stop providing films to these cinemas."

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Bambino Cinema owner Adeel Siddiqui said that if they wanted to ‘sabotage’ Pakistani films, they would have even taken down Na Maloom Afraad from the cinema. “It’s still running,” he said, adding that this answers  every allegation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2014.