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Pakistani cinemas will screen Iranian and Turkish films to fill void

Pakistani cinemas will screen Iranian and Turkish films to fill void

Will this move prove fruitful as Indian films aren't screening? We find out
Updated 16 Nov, 2016

As the ban on Indian content persists, Pakistani cinema owners and film distributors hope to bring about a change in the cinema experience for audiences by screening Iranian, Turkish and hopefully Chinese and South Korean films.

Film distribution company IMGC's Chairman Shaikh Amjad Rashid and Mohsin Yaseen of Cinepax management speak with Images on screening foreign films in Pakistan.

"It's in the initial states right now. We've decided to screen films from Iran and Turkey to fill the gap of Indian films," says Rashid.

"Yes. We are looking at different options from around the world to fill the gap, as Turkish dramas had a good following in Pakistan, we feel their movies will have a good impact too. Currently, we only play films from Hollywood, Bollywood and Pakistan," echoes Mohsin Yaseen of Cinepax (Karachi) management.

The hit Turkish drama 'Ishq e Mamnoon' went viral in Pakistan and girls couldn't stop gushing over Behlül.
The hit Turkish drama 'Ishq e Mamnoon' went viral in Pakistan and girls couldn't stop gushing over Behlül.

This move comes because local productions aren't enough to sustain Pakistani cinemas.

Says Yaseen, "Hollywood has a set number of releases around the year and these films have a certain market following. Bollywood has a huge market following but due to the political scenario there will always be uncertainty. Pakistani movies are coming in but they are limited in quantity, and are not enough to run 52 weeks of cinema business in a year. And Iranian films have good international repute, some Iranian directors have won international awards as well."

However, both agree that this won't necessarily be a permanent move. The chairman explains: "If the ban on Indian films is lifted, this will fizzle out because they (Iranian and Turkish films) will not yield a profitable response; they're very different from Pakistani culture."

Although Turkish dramas like Ishq e Mamnoon, Fatima Gull and Mera Sultan went viral in Pakistan, it's costly to buy their rights. But Yaseen hopes that Turkish films will be just as popular as these TV dramas.

The reason being Indian films don't have a language barrier and our culture closely mirrors theirs. Additionally, the Pakistani audience is more receptive to Indian artists because they are popular here and are frequently seen in TV commercials, he explains.

"Iranian artists are new (to our audience), even I don't know who their top actor or actress is," says Rashid. "However, this experiment can be done and it can be said that there is potential by placing one or two films."

Although Turkish dramas like Ishq e Mamnoon, Fatima Gull and Mera Sultan went viral in Pakistan, Rashid explains that they stopped playing here because it became costly to buy the rights. Plus, the traction died down.

Turkish drama 'Fatima Gull' became famous in Pakistan owing to Turkish actress Beren Saat.
Turkish drama 'Fatima Gull' became famous in Pakistan owing to Turkish actress Beren Saat.

"We had some advantage through Turkish dramas but there's a difference in TV audience and the cinema audience," he explains. "It's about paying money to go watch a show, as opposed to sitting at home and watching one which is available on cable."

Yaseen, on the other hand, is hopeful that the films will be as successful as the Turkish shows. "This formula worked on TV content. We are experimenting on a similar pattern as we have seen few screeners of the films and they are amazing and I'm sure our audience will like these movies as well.

On screening foreign films, IMGC aims to create a trade system with Iran and Turkey and also bring China on board. "There should be a barter system. In new markets we should do a barter system, Pakistani films should also be screened there," says the chairman.

Rashid discloses that a Pak-China film is in the works penned by Amjad Islam, which will be directed by Shehzad Rafique.

He adds, "South Korea is making exceptional movies nowadays, and we should explore China (as a market), even if 5% are released there it'll be profitable. When Pakistani films were released in China they did really well and were screening for years."

Although China is a viable option, as it is the second largest market after the U.S., there are a few considerations to note. For example, only 20% of foreign films are allowed to be screened in Chinese cinemas, the rest are all local productions.

Another Turkish drama which become outrageously popular among Pakistani audiences was 'Mera Sultan'.
Another Turkish drama which become outrageously popular among Pakistani audiences was 'Mera Sultan'.

"When the Indian PM went to China he took an Indian film distributor with him to sign a film agreement with them. It's unfortunate that when Pakistani officials go they don't take anybody from the film industry or try to get the agreements signed," says Rashid.

However, efforts are being made on both fronts to strengthen ties with China. He discloses that a Pak-China film is in the works penned by Amjad Islam, which will soon be directed by Shehzad Rafique. They're planning on taking two actresses; one from Pakistan and one from China. The working title of which is Rishta Hai Pyaar Ka and shooting will begin after winter.

Both, Yaseen and Rashid agree that it will take a long period of time till people become comfortable with the idea of foreign films. As of now, the foreign films which will be screened have not been finalised.

Comments

Feroze Danish Nov 12, 2016 04:40pm
Great step forward. Pakistani experiment with Turkish content and its remarkable success itself is an evidence of Pakistan's hunger for international content other than Indian. we as a society can relate more closely to Turkish and Iranian mindset than with India.
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Khurram Nov 12, 2016 04:43pm
Great. They are lot less vulgar than Indian films.
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Adnan Nov 12, 2016 05:00pm
The lady in red is beautiful
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zahid Nov 12, 2016 05:01pm
WELCOME
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shahid Nov 12, 2016 05:02pm
The fact is watching Indian movies and listening to Indian music is our second nature. Indian movies were the only reason for the advent of multiplexes in Pakistan. This also provided an opportunity of revival to our local films. Watching Turkish drama for free on TV is something different than actually going to the cinema and paying to watch them. Exhibition of Indian films is the only solution to keep the cinemas going.
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shahid Nov 12, 2016 05:03pm
@Feroze Danish Seriously? How many Turkish or Indian songs and dances you have heard at our local weddings? We share extremely close cultural ties with India. We were one country few decades ago
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master Nov 12, 2016 05:05pm
Agree, it is time pakistan must now explore outside,
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Najum Nov 12, 2016 05:12pm
Great. Except our own culture, we want to be everything including Iranians, Arabs and now Turkish.
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Muhammad Nov 12, 2016 05:14pm
I understand the current spat between india and pakistan and it is absolutely fine to show foreign content but we cant and shouldn't shy from ground reality. Pakistani cinemas right now need indian movies to sustain and make profits as our industry is not churning enough movies to produce profits for cinemas and indian movies have a very strong following among the masses and only they can sustain the cinemas till our industry starts to produce movies in bulk. Without a doubt the quality of our films have improved and our audiences do go to watch them but it is still in a weak stage and we need more cinemas to support our industry which in turn needs support from Bollywood (no other cinema can fill the void at this time). Ban on Indian drams wont affect the TV audience as our TV industry is already very strong and doesn't need indian soap operas but our cinemas atleast for some years need them. Lets be logical and not emotional for once
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Zi Nov 12, 2016 05:30pm
Good decision.
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Balaji Nov 12, 2016 05:32pm
Good luck from India. Please go ahead!!
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anjum Nov 12, 2016 05:33pm
@Muhammad Ok to accept influences, but we MUST get inspired by and get a vision to emulate nations like Turkey and Iran and their very advanced culture, cloth, food, values etc to move on and de-link from the hindustani way of life
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GANA Nov 12, 2016 05:33pm
No harm in trying Turkish and Iranian films,
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faisal Nov 12, 2016 05:34pm
why don't they go for chines Serials?
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Indian Star power Nov 12, 2016 05:38pm
Great. We Indians support it fully.
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anjum Nov 12, 2016 05:39pm
@shahid Well it all about change. The various society leaders and opinion leaders from all stratos must to it first. Talk about it, copy it etc. They must move first then the masses will get inspired and will follow. So many Iranian, Turk and Arabs are married with pakistani men and women. Wonderful. I want my kids to do the same to move on in cultural sense. Iran, Turkey are so advanced societies.
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Muhammad Nov 12, 2016 06:03pm
@anjum I am not against supporting our own culture but right now our cinemas do need indian movies as ppl are connected to indian cinemas. Face the facts iranian and turkish movies wont attract that much audience as Indian movie would. And whether we like it or not we (atleast Punjab and sindh) are culturally closer to India compared to middle east. We can have shawarmas and falafel every now and then but not every day. We simply can not substitute it with our local daal chawal, aloo gosht. I am not saying that iranian and turkish movies shouldnt be shown. Thats a very good step but they can not simply help our cinemas to revive or sustain. We need indian movies till the time our own industry isnt producing movies in bulk . Lolly wood is making good movies now but not enough
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Khwarezmi Nov 12, 2016 06:03pm
Indian movies can not be watched with family. I have met Indians who have said the same.
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Tariq Shah Nov 12, 2016 06:07pm
What a wonderful idea, please do this. The public should support these cinema owners by helping recoup their investment. Good riddance to trashy, vulgar, cheesy and completely alien to our culture Indian movies. I would love it if we completely shed Indian culture and values and instead concentrate on movies from Muslim countries, we can look to other nations as well with the Muslim world, there are a lot of very intelligent movies made with sensible messages to society as well as being very entertaining,
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Tariq Shah Nov 12, 2016 06:12pm
@Najum In the US, the public loves to watch movies from all over the world, do you want to be one dimensional like india? All they watch is themselves, but in private they worship Hollywood.
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sachin Nov 12, 2016 06:14pm
@shahid Let there be an experiment. Read carefully and you 'll see that the cineplexnowners say that Pakistani audience will not accept and hat Indian movies are closer to our culture.
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Striver Nov 12, 2016 06:19pm
THE ONLY REASON CINEMA OWNERS WANT INDIAN MOVIES IS BECAUSE PKs ARE NOT MAKING ENOUGH MOVIES. PKs are now making good movies. They need investment to make more. You will see a sudden change in preference in PK audience back to PK. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
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saeeds Nov 12, 2016 06:35pm
Why our people always on moral police patrol. Culture and vulgarity have different standard for different people. Simple if you don't like it don't watch don't tell other about culture and moral values .
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AliPasha(USA) Nov 12, 2016 06:38pm
@sachin I have seen Iranian and Turkish cinema and I really appreciate it .It's a chance to widen hjorizon's for the Pakistani public.We should also show more Hollywood movies.
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Gautham Nov 12, 2016 06:40pm
Governments cannot change our intrinsic culture.. This will breed an apathetic and confusing attitudes in the society.
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Aks Nov 12, 2016 06:48pm
@shahid "The fact is watching Indian movies and listening to Indian music is our second nature. " I disagree completely. Many of us are huge fan of English movies , songs and serials. Interestingly we don't share culture or anything with them . " We were one country few decades ago" ...We were a British colony for 200 years and at the time of independence we divided solely because of our different cultural values and mindset.
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Sana Nov 12, 2016 06:53pm
@shahid Agree with you Shahid
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Aks Nov 12, 2016 06:54pm
I am glad to see this change. I hope we promote our values and culture especially language and dressing style in Pakistani movies and refrain from copying bollywood flicks and their silly item songs.
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Sana Nov 12, 2016 06:55pm
@anjum What advanced culture? Both countries have dictatorial rulers Pakistan actually has more a sense of democracy than Iran or Turkey In addition, nothing beats a good Indian Movie Indian movies are world famous- unlike Turkish and Iranian movies
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TZaman Nov 12, 2016 06:59pm
@Feroze Danish Well 99.9% of Pakistanis relate more with Indian than Turkish or Iranian. And that is the truth. We do not know their culture or ethos.
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TZaman Nov 12, 2016 06:59pm
@Khurram Have seen a Turkish movie in Turkey??? Then talk about it.
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TZaman Nov 12, 2016 07:00pm
@shahid Exactly your are right. Rest are beating about the bush and being apologetic.
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TZaman Nov 12, 2016 07:04pm
Cinema owners you want make money. Then bring back Indian movie. Simply. Rest is nothing but hogwash.
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Baba Nov 12, 2016 07:14pm
I have watched few Turkish movies over the last few years, most of them are brilliant and relate-able
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sam Nov 12, 2016 07:43pm
there is a huge turkish media production, infact second in the world behind US in drama series export worldwide. we just started construction of the biggest media/film city in the world, with 2.4 billion$ investment i am not sure if iranian movies will attract pakistani viewers because of strict limitation and very conservative material in production in iran, but for sure Turkish movies will find alot of viewers in pakistan like its serials/ the only thing unfortunately is the price, because turkish product is quite costly, compare for its potential viewers in pakistan. i hope our government will support somehow to make it available for our pakistani brothers.
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Dr Patnaik Nov 12, 2016 07:47pm
Bollywood is the produces the maximum number of films in a year plus it's the fastest growing entertainment engine in the world . All together Chinese, Turkish ,Iranian and Korean films industry combinedly less than 50 percent of Bollywood and most of the movies they produce are stereo typical and bowring . Best of luck to my Pakistan friends.
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NowNow Nov 12, 2016 07:47pm
I wish these iranian and turkish movies are able to fill the gap but I sincerely doubt the same. This is what Humayon Saeed had said earlier that banning indian films will hurt our industry.
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Rajesh Nov 12, 2016 07:49pm
It is a good move.
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Afzaal Ansari Nov 12, 2016 07:50pm
For good resilience of our film and darama industry, our culture shall be promoted through presenting good, reliable and social dramas and films instead of others as the other cultures contained vulgarity with obscene which is not acceptable in our society. The unemployment will also be mitigated through promoting of our culture.
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anir Nov 12, 2016 08:06pm
@Feroze Danish Surprise to know that Pakistani mindset is closer to Turkish or Iranian than Indian. All the best. My understanding and experience in USA, Middle East and Australia showed that Pakistanis are more close to Indians and vice versa with regard to culture, food, festivals etc. and celebrate so many things together, watches movies together, debates on issues together, argues on cricket, and then join each other's parties. Not sure all these are possible with any other country.
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Ding dong Nov 12, 2016 08:13pm
We are two very separate class of people. We are different!!!
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thatsthat Nov 12, 2016 08:14pm
One thing is very clear. Turks are white like Pakistanis
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Kitty Nov 12, 2016 08:22pm
At least they are better looking!
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CHANDER Nov 12, 2016 08:22pm
Irani I can understand but how are you remotely connected to Turkey.Except religion what is common between both.
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farting ginnie Nov 12, 2016 08:25pm
Good choices..........
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jm Nov 12, 2016 08:40pm
Starting of Egyptian (arabic) cinema dates back to 1896 . Apart from Towering Omar sharif and graceful Faten Hamama , plenty of them made it to hollywood. Lebanese are eye candies. Subtlest of Raq shariqi comes from egypt not from turkey. People have smattering of understanding of arabic from school level. Problem would be arabisation .
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Nilesh Nov 12, 2016 09:22pm
Good.... promote that culture in pak kids!
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Komal S Nov 12, 2016 09:29pm
Also Pakistani artists needs to see if both Iran and Turkey will take them in their movies.
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Farrah Nov 12, 2016 09:32pm
Iranian movies will have a better impact on our society than Bollywood. No disrespect to Indians but Pakistani culture is conservative and most of us can't relate to your movies.
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Behroze Pervaiz Nov 12, 2016 09:35pm
i dnt know when you will start investing and making such type of inhouse made programs for tv and cinema ... seriously ... that not only promotes your culture and religion but also avoid the insane stories or relations and rubbish risque dresses and bodies invading as well destroying our values ....
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Jaatboy Nov 12, 2016 09:41pm
@Feroze Danish hahaha you are right
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Chicago Nov 12, 2016 10:09pm
Until we Pakistanis start to respect our self noting will change. Nothing wrong with best cinema from around the world per our values and culture.
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Balti King Nov 12, 2016 10:15pm
Hello commentors... Although We like Indian movies but govt has banned it in Pakistan. So we have to use other means and Iranian & Turkish films are ready to fill the void. So its a good decision.
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anjum Nov 12, 2016 10:30pm
@Sana You are most welcome to enjoy what makes you happy. This tread is about how we all can help the Pakistani film industri to grow and be independant. It is done by YOU going to the cinemas and providing money ot them. It CANNOT be done by watching Indian movies. Do you know that the Indian movies are for Indian an escape from their strictly cast divided and family centered society? What you see in Indian movies NEVER is a true depiction of the realities over there. It's a dreamworld, it's the Indians "pressure relief valve" from the tuff live. Pakistanies has been watching and supporting the growth of this industry since the 1970'ies, and while watching has got entertainment (= sucked into a dreamworld) but has also been intrenched with the old hindu culture, traditions, rituals. Nothing wrong with it. But the rest of the world is the future.
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R.S. Menon Nov 12, 2016 10:31pm
It is because of Indian films that the cinema theaters in Pakistan did not so far convert into shopping malls. R.S. Menon, Bangalore
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Ahmad Nov 12, 2016 10:36pm
@Khwarezmi It depends what movie you are watching. Bollywood produces 100s of movies every year, they come in different types. Now, if you're only choosing some vulgar movie to watch then its your problem. I remember watching these movies this year and they had no vulgar content but only good story: Airlift, Fan, Sultan, M.S. Dhoni, Pink, Neerja, Shivaay, Rustom, Kapoor & Sons, Madaari and many more. It totally depends on you what movie you want to watch.
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ROHIT PANDEY Nov 12, 2016 10:39pm
@Tariq Shah What a wonderful idea, please do this. The public should support these cinema owners by helping recoup their investment. Good riddance to trashy, vulgar, cheesy and completely alien to our culture Indian movies. I would love it if we completely shed Indian culture and values and instead concentrate on movies from Muslim countries, we can look to other nations as well with the Muslim world, there are a lot of very intelligent movies made with sensible messages to society as well as being very entertaining I read your first para and then, the second. They CONTRADICT each other, I would say? Your opinion readers?:)
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Raj Nov 12, 2016 11:01pm
Try your luck. For entertainment, no other films can match Indian movies for sure. Try all the alternatives and by that time, the cinema and cinema hall industry would have already breathed their last one.
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Raj Nov 12, 2016 11:03pm
@Feroze Danish - Strange, do you really think that pakistan is more related to Turkey and Iran than India? THen you must be living in an illusionary and halucinated world.
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Aurora Nov 12, 2016 11:08pm
@Balaji : but will dance to Indian film songs & tunes in their marrige in mehandi ceremonies.lots of such stuff is available on youtube.
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Kau Nov 12, 2016 11:31pm
Pakistani nation better be learning Turki,Farsi and Chinese
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Abdou Nov 12, 2016 11:43pm
Great move. Iranians and Turks make quality movies of international grade. Ban superlateral Indian movies. Indian movies are grand waste of time. Indian movies teaches misogyny, sexism, corruption, stupid beliefs. I am glad Pakistanis chose to be a different nation
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Zain Hasan Nov 12, 2016 11:53pm
The problem is that our audience has become so used to watching the garbage commercial cinema that no other movies will be successful in Pakistan. Irani cinema is for mature and sensitive audience, so even if the cinema tickets are very low-priced, I doubt our people will want to watch it. The commercial garbage is not being (and can never be) produced in large enough number to fill the void left by the Bollywood. It is a shame that movies like Manto, Moor, Udaan, Masaan hardly make money while movies like Jawani Phir Nahi Aani, Dabang, Bodyguard, etc get all the glory.
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Leo Nov 12, 2016 11:56pm
Greetings from India on this bold decision. Please never get bullied by India. Turkish and Chinese films will be a hit in Pakistan as they are good friends, also this will help to improve relations with Iran . Wish you good luck !
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Raag Nov 12, 2016 11:59pm
Iranian films could be ok and acceptable,but Turkish films are not digest able to Pak audiences,the problem according to people comments is dressings not compatible to our lives,hence can't see with family.As far as Indian films are concerned they are 90% ok,only some item songs are immoral,but still acceptable,as culture and history coincides.
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hindu Nov 13, 2016 12:00am
@Khurram but photo depicts otherwise.
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JUSTICE Nov 13, 2016 12:11am
Keep Muslim culture alive, better off showing movies from Muslim countries than Hindu culture movies in Pakistan.
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Umar khan Nov 13, 2016 12:30am
Iranian movie is a good move but Turkish movie , I am not sure about that .
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Intizar Nov 13, 2016 01:01am
"some Iranian directors have won international awards as well" What an understatement! In fact Iranian film directors are some of the best in the world today. Watch films by Kiarostami, Makhmalbaaf, Asghar Farhadi, Jaafar Panahi and so many others to appreciate what a film should be.
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MuhammAD bAQIR Nov 13, 2016 01:03am
iranian Movies are best ..
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Mir Zahir Nov 13, 2016 01:11am
Pakistani cinema should align itself with the countries to its west instead of India. Indian movies, evidently have not had a good influence on many people, because it is an obsession. Many try to act like or feel themselves like the hero or heroine in those songs. Indian movies have had a bad influence on several people People start talking like the heroes and heroines & as if the song filming was meant for them. Many have destroyed their lives finding parallel in the love stories.Indians have become nationalist, because of these movies. We are good, You are bad, no grey area. This is what the Indian movies have done to Indians.
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mukhtiar Nov 13, 2016 01:23am
A good development. Pakistanis will learn Mandarin, Turkish and Persian. Excellent.
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Shailesh Nov 13, 2016 01:32am
@anjum You can watch movies from any country, no problem. But it would do you good to shed the inferiority complex you have about your own culture. Turks or Iranians or the Venezuelans are not any better than us.
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enu Nov 13, 2016 01:37am
Best thing that could happen. Iranian films are excellent. Pure cinema. Hope local film makers learn from them rather than bollywood.
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Irfan Nov 13, 2016 01:57am
@Tariq Shah Bhai , culture is different thing than religion . See , countries like Uzbekistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan etc are Muslim countries but they proud on their own culture ,not on Arabs . Likewise , Pakistani can't shed Indian culture, as it is their own culture, which is their identity. In fact Indian culture have evolved from Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro which are in present Pakistan.
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rajah R Nov 13, 2016 02:09am
It's ok pakistanis saying this is fantastic but there is no cultural historical or language connect. Are people seriously think the fact that they are muslim countries is going to be enough?
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Mohammed Cohen Nov 13, 2016 02:38am
Pakistan has huge number of talented people who can start making digital movies and TV dramas within a matter of months! Why can't Pakistani government takes an initiative to start financing small budget (5 to 10 Lakhs) for 30 minutes per drama series to develop its own TV series instead importing a new culture with their own traditional values that would not serve any particular purpose of Pakistani viewers. This is a god sent opportunity for Pakistan to induce respect among its young and creative film makers instead of copying Bollywood's Israeli designed trash movies and garbage TV being financed by the Israeli groups to demoralize India's family values and destroy its culture that is also directed towards Pakistan! Invite Pakistanis living abroad to start making movies and TV films as is being done in India with the exception that Pakistan has to do it on its own instead of Israeli money through Hollywood!
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Axomiya Nov 13, 2016 02:46am
@thatsthat You are funny.
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Faras Nov 13, 2016 03:28am
They are much better than we have been watching until now the Indian stuff
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paxtani Nov 13, 2016 03:40am
@shahid if it's that close.... why duplicate.. use our own pakistani songs... and learn something new from Turkish and Iranian art
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paxtani Nov 13, 2016 03:43am
@shahid you can watch free indian songs and movies on youtube if you miss them that much..... time to move beyond
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paxtani Nov 13, 2016 03:48am
@TZaman can you point to any indian movie where you can say that you, you siblings, parents... behave talk dress act the way in those movies? The very reason of separate country is our different values. We respectfully stay separate.
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JahanGir khan Nov 13, 2016 04:14am
We can also watch Nigerian movies made by muslims.
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sam Nov 13, 2016 04:33am
Thank God finally we can now watch that belongs to our own heritage and religion. I love watching Turkish, and Iranian movies, Pakistan should also allow Arabic movies. Good Music , Good story and Beautiful locations. Far much better then Indian movies which are full of cheapness, no class what so ever and most of the songs in Indian movies are copied from Pakistan, Arab, Turkish and Persian artists. And story is like if you watch one Indian movie It means you have watched all Movies
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SHAHBAAZ Nov 13, 2016 04:38am
@Feroze Danish if you think your culture and mindset is iranian or Turkish then you're probably high or in denial.
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ashar Nov 13, 2016 05:07am
This is the most idiotic move I have ever seen from Pakistani politicians. There is a core reason we listen to Indian songs and watch their movies. No matter what you do , you can not take Lata, Rafee, Kishor out of our culture. They might practice different religion but their movie stories revolve around the same concepts and culture as our. Instead of giving leverage and tax benefits to our film industry, we are trying to fill the void with the movies that don't represent our culture and our heritage. On top of it they are not in our language. How does the government and cinema owners expect movie goers to come to cinema to see a movie that is not made in their own language. It can work on TV because it is a part of package. But no one will be interested to pay separately for non-Urdu and non-English movie. I don't understand why are we hell bent on destroying our heritage and culture.
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Shan Nov 13, 2016 05:17am
Pakistan has no option.. Indian movies are it's only hope.
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Lootra Nov 13, 2016 05:28am
Good luck. Hope Pakistani audiences speak Persian, Turkish, Chinese and Korean languages well to be able to understand the movies.
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Proud pakistani Nov 13, 2016 05:54am
@sachin that's true bro we are very close to Indian actors and cinemas not dramas and don't think Turkish can take over in Pakistan. But as govt policy we respect the decision
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meh Nov 13, 2016 06:39am
Good decision. Pakistanis need exposure to good international cinema other than Indian.
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:03am
@Feroze Danish "we as a society can relate more closely to Turkish and Iranian mindset than with India." - you're joking right? If not, you need a serious education in history and culture.
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Aakash Nov 13, 2016 07:03am
@froze danish, I pity you. Those who deny their ancestry and roots, are treated with contempt all around the world. u are different country but at least acknowledge who u are. It's like saying erstwhile east Germans were culturally closer to sovits than West Germans. What farce!
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:04am
@Adnan : It's good to know you took that from the article.
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:09am
@Balaji : Biases aside. This is not about cinematic experiences. We are one people. No amount of hostility in attitudes, sentiments or state policies can deny the intrinsic bonds people of these two countries share. It is DNA. Good luck fighting it.
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:09am
@Gautham : Amen.
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Rajiv Ranjan Nov 13, 2016 07:11am
Great step. Let the thousand flowers bloom. Keep the windows open. Let the fragrant breeze enter you room for all directions.
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:11am
@Aks : Please read literature outside the fiction found in Pakistan Studies.
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Pea Brain Nov 13, 2016 07:11am
@thatsthat : really....you said that !!
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R S Chakravarti Nov 13, 2016 07:36am
I don't watch any films. In the past I even said that the world would be a better place without Bollywood. But after I started reading Pakistani papers I think Bollywood will eventually be a major contributor to good relations. In at least one post here, a distinction is made between Indian and foreign!
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anir Nov 13, 2016 07:59am
@Farrah All cultures start with being conservatives, but each generation make it more liberal than earlier. Dilip Kumar movies were different from current day movies. No country can stop this process of younger people moving towards liberal ideas, they may only delay. Pakistan may be conservative today, but will become liberal some day with newer generation. It is a matter of time.
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Khan Nov 13, 2016 08:21am
Waiting to see movies like "The Butterfly Effect" and "A Separation", "Water and Fire" which received high critical acclaim.
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Khan Nov 13, 2016 08:24am
Correction: "The Butterfly's Dream" not "Butterfly Effect"
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AXH Nov 13, 2016 08:40am
@shahid - I am sure the word Nationalism is alien to sir.
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mohammed Aziz Nov 13, 2016 08:56am
Try everything. But Pakistanis love Indian movies, songs, which is much closer to Pakistani music and life.
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DODU Nov 13, 2016 09:10am
Dubbed ?
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tahir Nov 13, 2016 09:42am
@shahid Move to India. They love to have Pakistani people live in their country and watch their movies :)
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yawar abdul rehman Nov 13, 2016 10:56am
also go for South Korean film industry ... it is really good
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shahid Nov 13, 2016 12:17pm
@sachin I agree
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shahid Nov 13, 2016 12:19pm
@Aks think anything that makes you feel happy. what I have said is the reality. never going to change.
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shahid Nov 13, 2016 12:23pm
@Aks It seems like you have no knowledge of Pakistani cinema. 'Item' songs were always part of our sub continental cinema, be it Pakistani or Indian. Watch any Pakistani movie from the 70s and 80s and you will find an item number in most of them; remember the dances in clubs by Husna, Zamurad, Nazli, etc. See you don't know much about what you are debating.
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Lafanga Nov 13, 2016 02:03pm
Anything that can replace the trash coming out of Bollywood is a good positive step.
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APK Nov 13, 2016 05:15pm
It is an experimental move..! Fine. Something is better than nothing!!
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Zak Nov 14, 2016 12:20am
@faisal excellent idea.
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Zak Nov 14, 2016 12:21am
@Aks well said.
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Zak Nov 14, 2016 12:24am
@Najum idiotic comment, article says, pakistani movies will come along with similar cultures. In 1950s/60s Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan had formed an economic block and there were many cultural exchanges until, shah of Iran got overthrown, Soviets invaded Afghanistan
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Ather Khan Nov 14, 2016 02:11pm
We need to break from bollywood, Pakistan needs to turn towards Iran/ Turkey.
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Sanjay Nov 15, 2016 01:43pm
@ashar : very well said.
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Jerry Nov 15, 2016 03:01pm
I like Iranian films, they are critically acclaimed. Baran is a good example.
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Mani Nov 16, 2016 01:50pm
Any film can work, provided it has a good dose of masala and tons of marketing behind it.
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