0 Pakistani cinema houses sans Lollywood films!

New cinema houses have come into existence in different cities of Punjab due to the arrival of Bollywood films, and an improvement in cinema quality seems to have improved a great deal as well.

New cinemas are being created in Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Multan, Bahawalpur and many other cities.

The Pakistani film industry seems to have benefited a great deal due to the up-gradation of cinemas. This was expressed by Cinema Management Association chairperson, Cinema Owners Association general secretary and Censor Board member Qaisar Sanaullah while talking to Daily Times on Saturday.

Qaisar informed that Lollywood had produced just one film ‘Acchha Gujjar’ from October 2011 until now, and rumours and speculations that Lollywood had collapsed sue to the prevailing market for Bollywood were baseless.

He said out of 200 cinemas, 160 cinemas were dependant only on the revival of Pakistani film industry, while 40 cinema houses were those where only Indian movies were being screened. Qaiser gave precise calculations of the Pakistani films saying that the production of Lollywood films was reducing every year. Lollywood produced 11 films in 2010, 14 in 2009, 16 in 2008 and 22 films in 2007.

He said the screening of Indian films started in 2008 in Pakistan, whereas 500 cinema houses had already vanished from 1947 to 2008 due to the non-availability of Pakistani films. Qaiser said the Pakistani films industry could revive if modern cameras, new and educated directors, skilled writers and talented actors started taking active part in Lollywood. Other than that, wealthy investors were also required to bring heavy investment in the film industry, he suggested.

He said the film industry could flourish with the announcement of mere five to six films. But the reality was that those Lollywood filmmakers who were making such films in the past were now no longer in a position to produce even six films annually, he lamented. Qaiser said around 50 to 60 films were required to keep 160 cinema houses working, but for the time being it was not possible.Source: www.dailytimes.com.pk