Can Pakistani cinema stand up on its own two feet today?

The annual, three-day Karachi Literature Festival started its 10th chapter on Friday, and after an inaugural session that included welcome as well as key note speeches, the literary band of activity began with a panel on Pakistani cinema, dissecting its past, present and future. A subject that could in fact merit an entire festival of its own, this session was scheduled to feature Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Yasir Hussain, Munawar Saeed, Nabeel Qureshi and Asif Raza Mir but since the two big stars – for which fans had turned up in hordes – didn’t turn up, they were replaced by Fizza Ali Meerza and Satish Anand.“I apologise to all the fans who turned up this evening to see me at KLF,” Mehwish Hayat clarified to Instep, when contacted. “Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding on dates my attendance was never fully confirmed. Will definitely do it next year.” Fahad Mustafa was caught up in the flights’ suspension and hence couldn’t make it in time, he explained regretfully.Regardless of the absence of the two big stars, the discussion on Pakistani cinema continued quite animatedly and presented some very relevant observations. Veteran actor Munawar Saeed, who has over 5 decades of experience in film, recalled the trip he made to Lahore in 1970 for his first film and then quickly recapped his career and its experiences, emphasizing on the fact that it was important to focus on the present if the future was to be improved. He appreciated Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza for making films without much financial help, funding or government support. Munawar Saeed was generous in his praise and encouragement for the new generation, which was refreshing considering there is usually uncomfortable division between the past and present generations. “The process of regeneration has started,” stated Asif Raza Mir, whose father Raza Mir was an integral part of Pakistani cinema’s past and whose son, Ahad, is very much the future. “You see newcomers everywhere,” he continued, apprehending the need to emulate Bollywood in the process. He did clarify, referring to Fizza and Nabeel, that certain filmmakers were attempting to make films that would define Pakistani cinema. “The future of our film industry is very promising.”Film producer Satish Anand also took an extremely positive road to cinema. He said he didn’t believe in bad times, only challenging ones, and he only thought of ways to overcome challenges. As a distributor he did reassure that Pakistani films had incredible pull, citing the example of Bollywood Blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijan, which came down in a few weeks whereas two local films – Bin Roye and Wrong Number – released simultaneously, outplayed it. Mr Anand’s optimism did appear slightly exaggerated but then it was constructive and thus welcome. “Thanks to our resilience, we have emerged and come out stronger each time there has been a crisis,” he said. He did add a welcome spot of humour to his comments, when he remembered the censor notifications he got after each film was sent for clearance. “It was hilarious,” he remembered. “On dance numbers they would note, ‘chest movements to be reduced by 40 percent, hip movements to be reduced by 65 per cent, action to be reduced by 30 per cent... things like that. We have lived through that. And thanks to Shoaib Mansoor, who brought a great turn with Khuda Kay Liye…these are the people who have done so much for film. Na Maloom Afraad is one of the best films of recent times,” he added, also praising Nabeel and Fizza for their efforts. The issue on the current ban on Bollywood films did come up, but while everyone felt it was temporary and Bollywood films would be back, they unanimously agreed that the time wasn’t far when Pakistan would produce enough quality films to keep cinemas populated.Another important point, made by the panel’s moderator Mr. Ahmed Shah, was that the industry needed independent awards, which were not influenced by TV channels, as is the case these days.“I don’t think films can go much further unless they separate themselves from television,” Yasir Hussein echoed the thought. “TV is a very small medium and film is a very large medium,” he said. “Second, when I see old films, I see villains speaking a very real kind of language, which nowadays is considered gaalis. I need to understand which censorship are we following and which society are we operating in now. I used the word ‘kanjar’ in one of my film dialogues and it was censored whereas a lot worse has been said and done in films in the past. I’d like to know where are censorship policies going now?”Making a lot of sense, Yasir also explained why he wanted to continue doing comedy. The panel made a lot of valid points, albeit hurriedly, and at one time one felt the moderator had more to say than he wished his guests to say but it was important and good enough to keep the conversation going. But will all the good will and intentions be good enough to keep the industry going? Last year witnessed an unprecedented high for Pakistani cinema in decades and while there are some major releases this year, The Legend of Maula Jatt and Parey Hut Love included, the calendar doesn’t appear to be as populated as 2018. As Satish Anand said, the industry is used to overcoming diversity, and one can only hope that it manages to keep moving forward.

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