Pakistani filmmakers have the chutzpah to go global

The last three decades of the twentieth century saw hundreds of cinema houses being pulled down across Pakistan and turned into commercial theatres, plazas, marriage halls and petrol pumps due to non-availability of films. The attractive handmade posters, the publicity parades and jostling for tickets that marked the golden age of Pakistani cinema, in 1960s and 1970s, because of production of hundreds of popular films - all have become things of the past. Strict censorship, lack of quality and home entertainment during General Zia-ul-Haq's regime from late 1970s to the late 1980s held sway. By the end of the century, it seemed the South Asian country's cinema industry had seen its glory off.

The Pakistan film industry that once turned out about 100 films a year, could not release a single Urdu-language film in 2003. Things, however, began to change when Pakistan lifted a ban on Indian films being shown in Pakistani cinemas in 2007 when relations with India had cooled to a detente in General Pervez Musharraf's regime. This step brought people back to the cinema. A rebirth of Pakistan cinema was witnessed in the same year when, veteran TV director Shoaib Mansoor came up with Khuda Kay Liye -  about two singers in the months following 9/11. It also became the first Pakistani release in India in four decades. Movie critics saw the film as "the raindrop that pierces through the sunbeam, the confession of a sinning priest, the pleasure of the first born, a swipe on the dust that had been settling for ages and the epoch of entertainment experience". Despite its limited release, the low-budget film was a commercial success, raking in over Rs 250 million, making it one of the highest grossing Pakistani films of all time. Audiences returned to cinemas and so did box office earnings, spurring construction of new cinemas - mostly multiplexes - in 2010 and later across the country. People enjoyed both Hollywood and Bollywood films besides Pakistani in these slick multiplexes. The number of under-production local films, too, began to increase when investors saw hope for recovering their money from films.

About a decade or more later, we have seen the number of Pakistani movies and the range of subjects these are made on increase. Films now explore social issues using the visual and stylistic language of commercial cinema. To resonate with many viewers in 2008 was Mehreen Jabbar's Ramchand Pakistani focusing on how the tumultuous political relationship between Pakistan and India affected the people on both sides. In 2011, Shoaib Mansoor made a comeback with his film, Bol, exploring the question of gender identity. The year 2013 saw several highly successful films such as Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi, Zinda Bhaag, Josh and Seedlings with unique plots and powerful performances. Bilal Lashari's Waar, starring Shaan Shahid, raked in more than 300 million rupees, the highest any Pakistani film had ever earned before. Films like Verna and Dukhtar focusing on crimes against women, Moor (Mother), exploring the struggles of a family working on Pakistan's declining railways in Balochistan province, and Manto have also seen critical success. Also succeeding at the box office are animated films such as Teen Bahadur (2015) and Donkey Raja (2018). Several films have also failed miserably at the box office.

Pakistani filmmakers still face restricted budgets. However, instead of hankering after making big budget films, filmmakers need to boost the quantity and quality of feature films with greater input in script and production. Policymakers should provide incentives for film production. There is a severe lack of cinemas. The total number of cinema screens in Pakistan is 250. According to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the Pakistani government is now planning to increase the number of cinema screens to 1,000. But that too is quite low a number for a country of 207 million that had 1,500 cinemas half a century ago for half as much people. Besides facilitating building of screens at home, Pakistan needs to help its filmmakers explore international market. That way, filmmakers can expand their films' reach and revenue through international paid digital streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon.