The mention of South Asian cinema conjures images of extravagant dance routines, euphemistic love stories, and the complicated, visually luscious that characterise India’s Bollywood cinema. Many of South Asia’s worldwide superstars – like Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai – are Bollywood actors.
Bollywood dominates, but across the border in Pakistan, the domestic film industry is re-establishing itself after a long lull. Although many popular films echo Bollywood’s primary output of musical romances and comedies, a distinctive strain of cinema is making waves. These films use the stylistic language of commercial cinema to deal with social issues, often combining art-house references with a more accessible approach. Part of the reason for this distinctive style is logistical. “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.” Some suggest that this restriction of funding has spurred Pakistani filmmakers to create works with their own distinctive flavour.
The cinema described as Pakistan’s ‘new wave’ began in 2007, with director Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye (For God’s Sake), which explored the impact of radicalisation on a family. Produced on a low budget, it was a surprise box office hit, becoming Pakistan’s highest grossing home-grown film in decades, and the first to be released in India for 43 years. His second film, Bol (Speak) came out in 2011 and focused on an imam with a transgender daughter, a specifically Pakistani exploration of the global issue of gender identity. When Mansoor’s latest film Verna (Or Else), a revenge thriller based around a woman’s rape, was released in 2017, every cinema seat in Pakistan sold out.
Alongside boundary pushing films, action movies set against Pakistan’s chaotic and frequently violent political situation have also gained popularity. Waar (The Strike), released in 2013, was an action film about a retired army officer returning to foil a terror plot. It was Pakistan’s highest grossing film on record. A 2017 film Yalghaar (The Attack) told the story of Pakistani soldiers fighting the Taliban.
Bollywood is more famous, better funded, and gets plaudits abroad. At different points, this has caused resentment in Pakistan. Yet the fate of the cinematic industries in these two rival countries is closely interlinked: when Bollywood was banned in Pakistan, the domestic cinema industry tanked, and the return of Indian films has been linked to the success of the new wave.
Pre-Partition India’s film industry began in the 1920s, around the same time as Hollywood. It was centred in Lahore, a city that was part of Pakistan when India was divided up in 1947. Amid the mass killings and riots that took place as Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India and Muslims to Pakistan, buildings and infrastructure were destroyed, including many cinemas and film studios. Numerous productions stalled as casts and crews suddenly found themselves on opposite sides of the new border.
As the dust settled and nation-building began, some of the destroyed film studios were rebuilt, and new ones opened. The first Pakistani films to be produced after 1947 were, as their successors are, characterised by limited funding and equipment. But there were some big hits too, notably those featuring Noor Jehan. Pre-Partition India’s most famous film star and singer, she stayed in Pakistan after the border was drawn, propping up the new film industry with her enormous fame. Her 1952 film Dupatta (Scarf) was released in both India and Pakistan and the soundtrack quickly became a classic. By the early 1960s, Pakistani cinema was in its golden age.
Soon after Partition, some in the Pakistani film industry campaigned for a ban on Bollywood, arguing that the popularity of Indian cinema was stifling the growth of domestic films. A partial ban was established in 1952, and during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India it was upgraded to a total ban. Soon afterwards, the Pakistani cinema industry took a double hit. The first was the 1977 military coup by military dictator Zia Ul-Haq, who introduced a range of ‘Islamising’ measures. A new regulation required film producers to be degree holders; many were not and productions faltered. Some cinemas were forcibly closed and entertainment taxes pushed up prices and decreased attendance. In conjunction with the steadily increasing availability of pirated Indian films on VCR, the Pakistani film industry collapsed. Barely any Urdu-language films were produced, dropping from around 100 films a year before 1977 to just one or two. Cinemas closed, reopening as shopping malls or event spaces.
In the space that was left, regional cinema – in languages such as Punjabi and Pashto – flourished. These were pulpy films primarily aimed at people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Many focused on land disputes or tribal feuds, featuring swashbuckling stars with bouffant hairstyles. Some Pashto cinema, centred in the conservative north-western province of Pakistan, borders on soft porn. These were B-movies, and their dominance contributed to a sense that Pakistani films were an embarrassment.
By 2007, there was a new military ruler in power, Pervez Musharraf, and relations with India had improved. After a disastrous earthquake in northern Pakistan, Musharraf agreed that the Indian-produced film Taj Mahal could be released in Pakistan, with proceeds going to victims. A love story about the genesis of the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan’s famous monument to his beloved wife, it was considered a non-controversial topic since it dealt with a shared heritage. The film was a hit, and it opened the door to more Indian films. Bollywood was back – and Pakistani cinema’s recovery began.
Far from crowding out Pakistani film, as those early professionals had feared, Bollywood movies being released brought people back to the cinema and kick-started the nearly defunct national industry. In 2015 and 2016, Pakistani cinemas screened more than 200 Indian films, a record high. While cinema infrastructure has yet to return to its 1970s peak, there are now more than 250 cinemas, with plans in progress for more screens in all of Pakistan’s major cities. As the number of physical cinemas has increased, so too has the potential market for locally produced films – although given that the population is over 180 million, there is a long way to go. Despite its long period of decline, Pakistani cinema is remarkably diverse – and viewers are watching to see where it goes next.
