Failure of Lollywood, driving Pakistanis towards Indian movies

Cinema halls in Pakistan including those located in Northern Lahore and the Walled City, known for displaying Punjabi movies, have now switched to screening either Indian or English films.

Cinema-owners are going in for foreign flicks after Pakistani films failed to attract viewers in sizable numbers.

The trend to display foreign films is countrywide and not just confined to Lahore, which was once known for its vibrant film industry.

Exhibitors and distributors are showing a keen interest to purchase screening rights for new Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Only a few cinemas like Odeon, Capital and Shabistan are showing Pakistani movies, but cinemagoers have shown the least interest in these films.

Cinemas throughout the country have screened an Indian movie Kambakht Ishq while Prince and DHA are showing another Indian film Luck, The Nation reports.

Taj Mahal and Sabina at Faisalabad, Dream Land at Multan, Zinko Palace at Gujranwala, Sany Pax, Shaheen Auditorium at Rawalpindi and Shaheen Auditorium at Sargodha are exhibiting another Indian film Love Aaj Kal while the Metropole and DHA cinemas have displayed New York.

The huge number of cinemas including Mehfil, Crown, Alfalah, Regal, Palace, Paramount, PAF Cinema, Shabnam, Shama, Angola, Rattan, Rewali, Nishat and many others have closed down for lack of business and for the poor quality of films produced in Pakistan.

Najeeb Ahmad, a viewer, said the industry is paralysed due to lack of original scripts, rise of plagiarism and poor quality.

Punjab minister for sports and culture Rana Tanvirul Islam said, "I am surprised by the titles of Pakistani movies, one can asses the worth of our movie from its name."

Pakistan Cinema Management Association (PCMA) chairman Qaiser Sanaullah said the industry failed to produce quality films, which had forced the cinema-owners to take interest in screening rights for foreign movies.