What Should Pakistani Cinema Do To Survive and Thrive?

The first time I went to theater I was seven years old. The movie was the first X-Men and the theater was Prince (Karachi). I remember the booming sounds during the snowstorm action sequence, the hooting from the front rows during Rogue’s introduction, and jumping from my seat when Magneto held guns to the foreheads of the police force. It was an experience unlike any I’d ever had before.

It tracked with what I’d heard my father tell me about the heyday of Pakistani films. His favourite, the Palace Cinema, used to screen everything from ‘Armaan’ and ‘Chakori’ to ‘Alien’ and ‘The Exorcist’. That was a different time though, when local releases were bound to run for dozens, if not hundreds of weeks, and there was no overreliance on Indian films.

Today, the Prince and Palace cinemas are no more. The Nishat was burned down many years ago, and Capri has shuttered due to ballooning utility costs. Even multiplexes which boomed during the last decade and a half have closed. First it was the Universe Cineplex at Seaview, and now Atrium in Saddar has also shut down.

Only 4 cinemas remain operating in Karachi: the DHA Nueplex, the Askari IV Nueplex, the Clifton Cinepax, and the Arena Cinema on Tariq Road. Dotting these on the map of Karachi will tell you that the vast majority of its nearly 3 Crore population do not have any options. The North of Karachi is completely bereft of any cinemas at all. Hence, the mammoth populations of Gulistan-e-Johar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, and North Nazimabad are out of luck.

It’s the same scene nationwide. Theaters are being shut down because people aren’t going anymore. According to a recent report from Entertainment PK, around 46 screens have been shut down across 30 locations in last few years.

The Writing on the Wall

It’s not like this is a huge surprise. It’s been 12 years since ‘Waar’ kickstarted the new wave of Pakistani cinema in 2013. Back then there was hope and excitement for what Pakistani films could deliver, but that excitement has waned and crumbled under the weight of mediocre films, rising prices, local film bans; and most importantly, the Bollywood film ban.

In 2019 when the prevailing ban took effect, things for Pakistani cinema were looking up. The previous year, 2018, had seen a box office total of over 4 billion rupees in total. After the ban, theaters were almost immediately converted into ghost towns.

Aside from the rising ticket prices, the lack of popular film options, and the ubiquity of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Pakistani cinema’s declining fortunes have stemmed from its inability to deliver films year-round.

Audiences have been conditioned for the last decade and change to come out in anticipation for releases only on Eid. That makes for slim pickings all other months. Filmmakers say it’s the only profitable option to release films on Eid; the two times of the year that they’re guaranteed footfalls.

In 2022, when ‘Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ ate into the box office collections of local films on Eid-ul-Fitr, filmmakers protested. A rule was thus imposed, pushing international releases a week to allow space for local films. This rule has only been followed in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi region and has remained completely ineffective.

So, a film industry that hardly produces a dozen films every year, has given little to its audience in terms of excitement, and has banned Bollywood (which generated a majority of footfalls for many years) has shot itself in the foot repeatedly.

So, What’s the Solution?

Unfortunately, in the absence of quality local films, or really any local films at all, there is but one option: legally allow Indian films.

If you look to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Indian films are repeatedly ranked in the top 10 titles being viewed in Pakistan almost every month. The newest Indian digital release, whether it’s ‘Jawaan’ or ‘Pathaan’, ‘RRR’ or ‘Devara’, ‘Tiger 3’ or ‘Laapata Ladies’, is always trending.

There is still a genuine excitement for Indian films in the local audience. Even some of the Punjabi releases from India have done very well in the Punjab region (‘Jatt and Juliet 3’, ‘Carry on Jatta 3’, etc.)

While there is no guarantee that local cinema will thrive when Indian films are reintroduced, it will most likely survive. Cinemas will keep making money, and audiences will keep coming to theaters all other times of the year when blockbuster Eid releases are not playing.

There are several films being made in Pakistan right now which might not see the light of day if cinemas keep shutting down. And there is no current option for direct OTT releases which makes any sense. If Pakistani cinema is to be revived once again, it needs a reliable supply of films; and there seems to be just one reliable source.