Pakistani Cinema Halls

[ghazi52]

The history of cinema in Pakistan began in 1929, when Abdur Rashid Kardar set up a studio and production company under the name of United Players Corporation (later renamed Playart Phototone), which would become the foundation stone for the Lahore film industry.[9] After scouting for locations, he settled for their offices to be established at Ravi Road. The dim-lit area presented with much difficulties and shootings were only possible in the day-light, but nevertheless the area had some very important landmarks like the Ravi Forest and the tombs of Mughal emperor Jahangir and his wife Noor Jahan. It is reported that the team working at the studios would commute on tangas and even lost equipment once while traveling on the bumpy roads on the horse-drawn carriage.[9] However basic and crude their working conditions, Kardar believed in his work and in 1930 he produced the first silent film in Lahore Husn Ka Daku (Mysterious Eagle), under his studio's banner. The film had mild success at cinemas, but prominently established Lahore as a functioning film industry. Kardar vowed on not acting in any other film and instead focusing on direction.Immediately afterwards, the studio released the film Sarfarosh (Brave Heart) in 1931, with Gul Hamid playing the lead role with more or less the same cast as in the previous film. This production proved equally appealing, but was able to stir noise about the Lahore film industry. Roop Lal Shori, who was a resident of Brandreth Road in Lahore, upon hearing of Lahore's growing film industry, returned to his hometown and produced Qismat Ke Haer Pher (Life After Death) in 1932, which would firmly ground the film industry in Lahore. In 1946, Sajjad Gul set up Evernew Studios in on Multan Road. The following year, Eveready Pictures was established by J.C. Anand, which would go on to become the largest film production and distribution company in Pakistan.



NIGHAAR CENIMA, JOONA MARKET, OLD TIME , Karachi

Lahore

 

[ghazi52]

Naz , Karachi

Noor Mahal Napier road, Karachi

Capitol Cinema Karachi in 1940's:

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Star Cinema. Karachi in 1918-20's:

Afshan Cinema, Karachi

 

[ghazi52]

Revoli Karachi

Godoen, Karachi

 

[peagle]

I do not know why religious thinking finds a problem with cinematic arts in Pakistan. Iran and many other Muslim countries have a vibrant cinema industry, without any conflict with their Islamic heritage. I don't know why it is such a problem in Pakistan.

There is an urgent need for the government to help create an environment where different expressions of our cultural identity can be celebrated and displayed to a wider domestic and global audience.

 

[ghazi52]

A new wave of cinema

Mansoor’s following film came out in 2011. Titled Bol (Speak), it focused on an imam with a transgender daughter, a uniquely Pakistani exploration of the global question of gender identity. Alongside these boundary-pushing films, action movies set against Pakistan’s tumultuous political terrain gained popularity. In 2013, Waar (The Strike), an action film about a retired army officer returning to foil a terror plot, became Pakistan’s highest-grossing film on record. For all the film’s slick and modern visual language, the politics underlying it were traditional, casting India as a terrorist bogeyman conspiring to harm Pakistan.

Today, although Pakistani cinema is flourishing creatively, it still operates on much lower budgets than Bollywood. “Do not compare the rich big brother with the young poor one,” said Aijazz Gul, head of the film division at Pakistan’s National Council of the Arts. “What India spends on one film would cover the budget of a dozen films here.” However, some suggest that tight funding has spurred Pakistani filmmakers to create works with their own distinctive flavor.

In the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, journalist Nadeem Peracha described the country’s new-wave cinema as “stark art-house meditation on life but bear[ing] the soul of lively commercial cinema”. This is evident in Verna, where rape and the justice system are explored as a revenge thriller that references both Japanese and American cinema. The 2014 film Dukhtar (Daughter) dealt with arranged marriage, not as a staid social commentary movie but as a thriller. The 2017 film Yalghaar (Attack), made by the same director as Waar, is an action-packed war epic centered on the Pakistani army’s fight against the Taliban. Tub-thumping nationalism is popular with Pakistani audiences, although some film critics and journalists have questioned the role of the country’s powerful intelligence service in funding films and facilitating access to difficult-to-reach areas.

Pakistani filmmakers still face difficulties, from restricted budgets to capricious censors. The severe lack of physical cinemas limits how much income Pakistani films can make domestically, which is one reason many are increasingly seeking international releases – not just in India, but also in Britain, where there is a large Pakistani diaspora. “The shortage of cinema screens is our biggest problem,” said Gul. “For a country of over 200m, 250 cinemas are simply not sufficient – we need at least 4,000.”

Given its long period of decline, Pakistan’s film industry is effectively starting from scratch. And for a new cinema, its output is remarkably diverse. Along with the usual mix of musical romances, films pegged for release this year include Azaad (Freedom), a comedy drama exploring media freedom, and Wujood (Existence), a revenge thriller focusing on an independent young woman. “In Bollywood, the canvas is bigger and the resources are better, so Pakistani filmmakers have to bring in a local touch that people can relate to and appreciate,” said Anand. “It’s quite a challenge. And yet people are doing well in spite of that.”

 

[krash]

I do not know why religious thinking finds a problem with cinematic arts in Pakistan. Iran and many other Muslim countries have a vibrant cinema industry, without any conflict with their Islamic heritage. I don't know why it is such a problem in Pakistan.

What problem? Who said that there was one? There are high to low quality cinemas all over playing Hollywood, Lollywood and Bollywood movies all day everyday. The problem is the garbage quality of Pakistani movies and the garbage taste of the majority of Pakistani movie goers, as evidenced by the demand for Bollywood and Bollywood inspired Lollywood movies in the country.

 

[Hiraa]

Who said that it was a problem? There are cinemas all over playing Hollywood, Lollywood and Bollywood movies everyday. The problem is the garbage quality of Pakistani movies and the garbage taste of the majority of Pakistani movie goers, as evidenced by the demand for Bollywood movies in the country.

Bollywood has ruined our generation. Showing cheap storylines and vulgarity, our “liberals” have deemed them as some sort of standard of “freedom”. now Pakistani story tellers are following the same path. Whether its Tv/films, you can find bollywood/star pluss influences everywhere.

 

[peagle]

What problem? Who said that there was one? There are high to low quality cinemas all over playing Hollywood, Lollywood and Bollywood movies all day everyday. The problem is the garbage quality of Pakistani movies and the garbage taste of the majority of Pakistani movie goers, as evidenced by the demand for Bollywood and Bollywood inspired Lollywood movies in the country.

You just highlighted the problems yourself. My concern was not about cinemas, it was about film making, music, theatre and other Art forms that are used to express our cultural identity. In the modern age, cinema plays the strongest role among these art forms.

The moviegoers obviously want to watch better quality movies, that is why they watch imported material. My point was and is there needs to be organized support by government, not by giving money, but by establishing educational and training institutions, providing suitable policy and taxation framework and provide land on which large cinema production facilities could be built. There are so many examples of this around the world, these actions would help in creating better movies.

We too easily start attacking ourselves, please try and be positive and look at the issue holistically. We are a very large country, we can easily sustain a large film industry, provided the correct approach is taken.

 

[krash]

Bollywood has ruined our generation. Showing cheap storylines and vulgarity, our “liberals” have deemed them as some sort of standard of “freedom”. now Pakistani story tellers are following the same path. Whether its Tv/films, you can find bollywood/star pluss influences everywhere.

Frankly speaking, the so called 'liberals' in Pakistan aren't the ones keeping Bollywood and Bollywood inspired Lollywood movies alive in Pakistan, it's the average populous which is filling the halls. Those alleged 'liberals' are mostly found in Hollywood showings.

Before the proliferation of Bollywood movies in Pakistani cinemas people were watching them at home everywhere. The cinemas at the time were showing Lollywood refuse, which is even worse. There has been effort every once in a while to renew Lollywood with quality movies and we did see a few gems like Bol, Khuda Ke Liye, Jinnah and Moor but all these efforts have fallen flat in the face of the people's overwhelming demand for Bollywood-like garbage. Enter the mediocre Pakistani story tellers who are perfectly fine with producing garbage and raking in the money. The garbage sells, people have no taste.

You just highlighted the problems yourself. My concern was not about cinemas, it was about film making, music, theatre and other Art forms that are used to express our cultural identity. In the modern age, cinema plays the strongest role among these art forms.

That is not what you stated in your previous post. You clearly pointed towards some perceived conflict between the Cinema Industry and the religious heritage here in Pakistan. Which is nowhere near reality.

Regardless, film making and theater are both not thriving but still doing pretty well. They cater to a specific and large segment of the society and are happy making their money. As I said, it's about demand, people want the garbage and don't demand anything better. The producers are happy to oblige.

Music on the other hand is a completely different landscape in Pakistan. The musical traditions in our lands that are now Pakistan have always been strong, powerful, complex and robustly tied in with our cultures. This doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.

The moviegoers obviously want to watch better quality movies, that is why they watch imported material. My point was and is there needs to be organized support by government, not by giving money, but by establishing educational and training institutions, providing suitable policy and taxation framework and provide land on which large cinema production facilities could be built. There are so many examples of this around the world, these actions would help in creating better movies.

That is where we disagree. The moviegoers' demand is what is driving the supply. It is clearly evident by the fact that there are far more people going to the cinemas for Lollywood and Bollywood movies than Hollywood movies. Also the reason why many Lollywood movie producers are now emulating the garbage that Bollywood produces. The Pakistanis who do produce quality movies are being left behind.

You can contrast this clearly with the Pakistani Music Industry. It is the complete opposite. Indian music has never really been able to gain any ground in Pakistan, the number of talent-less people who have tried pushing Bollywood-like music in Pakistan only to never be given any attention isn't low either. Why did this happen? Because Pakistanis demand quality from their music. This demand then forces the industry as a whole to produce brilliant works. Let's keep in mind that all of this is when there is virtually no money being made in the Pakistani Music Industry, which is not the case with the Film Industry.

All of this is also the reason why the Indian Film and Music industries predominantly produce garbage. Their film industry needs no help from the government, it has quite a bit of money to produce quality and still it does not. Their Music is even worse, it's alive by piggy-backing on their film industry and at best can only produce shoddy copies of barely mediocre foreign tracks.

We too easily start attacking ourselves,

IMO, it's about time we did that. We have only gotten worse over the years. The Pakistani film industry wasn't always this bad, we used to produce great movies early on.

please try and be positive

It's not about being positive or negative. Just calling a spade what it is.

and look at the issue holistically.

That's what I'm trying to do, at least from where I stand.

We are a very large country, we can easily sustain a large film industry, provided the correct approach is taken.

Of course we can. But it's a consumer based industry and hence the demand dictates its supply. If people want garbage they will be provided garbage. Those who do still produce quality will be left in the shadows, until the people start demanding quality. Only then will they receive it.

 

[peagle]

Frankly speaking, the so called 'liberals' in Pakistan aren't the ones keeping Bollywood and Bollywood inspired Lollywood movies alive in Pakistan, it's the average populous which is filling the halls. Those 'liberals' are mostly found in Hollywood showings.

Before the proliferation of Bollywood movies in Pakistani cinemas people were watching them at home everywhere. The cinemas at the time were showing Lollywood refuse, which is even worse. There has been effort every once in a while to renew Lollywood with quality movies and we did see a few gems like Bol, Khuda Ke Liye, Jinnah and Moor but all these efforts have fallen flat in the face of the people's overwhelming demand for Bollywood-like garbage. Enter the mediocre Pakistani story tellers who are perfectly fine with producing garbage and raking in the money. The garbage sells, people have no taste.



That is not what you stated in your previous post. You clearly pointed towards some perceived conflict between the Cinema Industry and the religious heritage here in Pakistan. Which is nowhere near reality.

Regardless, film making and theater are both not thriving but still doing pretty well. They cater to a specific and large segment of the society and are happy making their money. As I said, it's about demand, people want the garbage and don't demand anything better. The producers are happy to oblige.

Music on the other hand is a completely different landscape in Pakistan. The musical traditions in the lands of Pakistan have been always been strong, powerful, complex and robustly tied in with our cultures. This doesn't seem to be anytime soon.



That is where we disagree. The moviegoers' demand is what is driving the supply. It is clearly evident by the fact that there are far more people going to the cinemas for Lollywood and Bollywood movies than Hollywood movies. Also the reason why many Lollywood movie producers are now emulating the garbage that Bollywood produces. The Pakistanis who do produce quality movies are being left behind.

You can contrast this clearly with the Pakistani Music Industry. It is the complete opposite. Indian music has never really been able to gain any ground in Pakistan, the number of talent-less people who have tried pushing Bollywood-like music in Pakistan only to never be given a any attention isn't low either. Why did this happen? Because people in Pakistan demand quality from their music. This demand then forces the industry as a whole to produce brilliant works. Let's keep in mind that all of this is when there is virtually no money being made in the Pakistani Music Industry, which is not the case with the Film Industry.




IMO, it's about time we did that. We have only gotten worse over the years. The Pakistani film industry wasn't always this bad, we used to produce great movies early on.




It's not about being positive or negative. Just calling a spade what it is.



That's what I'm trying to do, at least in my opinion.



Of course we can. But it's a consumer based industry and hence the demand dictates its supply. If people want garbage they will be provided garbage. Those who do still produce quality will be left in the shadows, until the people start demanding quality. Only then will they receive it.

Without being disrespectful and I mean it, are you sure you know what Pakistan is, your understanding of Pakistan is so far removed from reality, that I can't be bothered to give a comprehensive reply as clearly you seem to be referring to another country.

If you really want a full reply, please let me know and I will try to do it as soon as I can, perhaps in a few day's time. Apology if I've come across as too direct.

 

[krash]

Without being disrespectful and I mean it, are you sure you know what Pakistan is,

I sure hope so. Or having spent my entire life there, traveling every nook and cranny of the country, would seem like a complete waste of time.

your understanding of Pakistan is so far removed from reality, that I can't be bothered to give a comprehensive reply as clearly you seem to be referring to another country.

While rhetoric is all fine and dandy, I would still prefer some actual arguments please.

If you really want a full reply, please let me know and I will try to do it as soon as I can, perhaps in a few day's time.

TBH, it doesn't really effect me if you post an actual reply or not. You should, however, think about backing up your claims and rhetoric here. Otherwise you're just wasting your time on this forum.

Apology if I've come across as too direct.

Oh no worries at all, words never hurt anyone.

 

[ghazi52]

Falak Sher Cinema Peshawar in 50s

Capitol Cinema, Arbab Road, PESHAWAR

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, "Picture House", Cinema Road, Peshawar in 50s —

 

[jamahir]

Mansoor’s following film came out in 2011. Titled Bol (Speak), it focused on an imam with a transgender daughter, a uniquely Pakistani exploration of the global question of gender identity. Alongside these boundary-pushing films, action movies set against Pakistan’s tumultuous political terrain gained popularity.

I have watched Bol and it is a nice film. It is about various social issues.

 

[ghazi52]

Palace Cinema, Mirpur Khaas, Sindh

...........................................................


The Bambino Cinema, is located in Saddar area of Karachi. It is rightfully owned by Kashif Imtiaz. It was built during the 1960s and inaugurated by former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. It was the first cinema in Karachi to be equipped with 70mm screen and projection equipment, and the first cinema in Pakistan with two balconies. The first film shown in this process was David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia".

It is often claimed that the funding for the Bambino cinema came from the Gambino crime family in New York. At the time, the Gambino crime family was looking to expand their operations to South Asia.

During the 1970s, when the Pakistani film industry was in its boom, a mini-cinema Scala was built on its first floor. The cinema is also famous because it was built by Hakim Ali Zardari, father of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, who sold it later.

 

[ghazi52]

Karachi 1978

1981 Rawalpindi
Rose Cinema Fawara Chowk Raja Bazar, adjacent to Disst Headquarters Hospital..

Ratan Cinema (Balwant Rai Theatre) - Lahore