Every year, when millions of Pakistanis used to get ready to celebrate the festival of Eid, the local filmmakers and distributors made it a norm to announce that the 'next' Eid would definitely see the revival of the local film industry and the forever ailing 'Lollywood' would be back on its feet with back-to-back khaalis (pure) Pakistani blockbusters. Well, that promised 'next' Eid is actually about to arrive in a week's time as the film industry gets a chance to stand its ground with three 'made in Pakistan' releases.

Ever since Indian films were allowed to be screened in Pakistan, the cinema business turned to gold as people were treated to quality cinema, movies that had good acting, storylines and direction. There was no over-the-top action (ok, there were some movies with Punjabi touch action) but the comedy movies as well as serious ones from across the Wagah border filled the appetite of those hungry cinegoers who were either getting crap, or nothing at all. In the last five years, Indian movies have helped the cinema industry in Pakistan as much as the cinema industry has helped Bollywood films in return. That is one of the reasons why Bollywood doesn't produce Pakistan-bashing movies like it used to. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag that will be released in Pakistan in on August 23 is a far cry from 2001's Bollywood big grosser Gadar - Ek Prem Katha that bashed and stereotyped Pakistanis to the hilt! 

However, with all things going smoothly, local exhibitors have suddenly turned a blind eye to Indian films this Eid because they have local films lined up for release! Humayun Saeed's Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, Shahzad Rafique's Ishq Khuda and Iram Parveen Bilal's Josh. Due to the (sudden) emergence of local movies - and with no increase in the number of cinemas - the distributors, exhibitors and cinema owners have unanimously decided to ensure that Pakistani films get AN Eid release ahead of Indian movies. There are unconfirmed reports that the release of Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express might be delayed by a week and/or the movie may not be released at all if these Pakistani films manage to do well.

The Managing Director of Mandviwalla Entertainment Nadeem Mandviwalla, who also has stakes in Josh and Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, defends the decision by stating that priority must be given to Pakistani films. “Nothing is confirmed (about Chennai Express) as yet. However, most cinemas are going to support the local films with maximum shows this Eid. The business is limited because the cinemas are very limited. Thus, priority has to be given to the local product.”

Fair enough, if you look at it from the local industry's perspective. However, one must remember that for 45 years (between 1965 and 2010), Indian films were banned in Pakistan from being screened in cinemas, and although it didn't affect Bollywood at all, it did have a negative impact on Pakistani films. In the absence of competition, first we lost the industry in Dhaka (to the fall of East Pakistan), then the Karachi film Industry fell prey to Lollywood's emergence as the center, which finally succumbed to the exit (or death) of talented individuals, induction of ghunda mafia and the rise of black money, to name a few factors.

Some producers and directors did try to resurrect Lollywood in the mid-90s but their efforts weren't enough and finally, at the turn of the century, Lollywood just lost the way altogether. Renowned producer and director Shahzad Rafique, who delivered hits like Ghunghat and Nikaah (as producer) in the '90s and Mohabattan Sachiyaan (as director) in the new millennium, hopes that the release of his Punjabi film Ishq Khuda will help in reviving the local film industry. “I am fully confident about my film. I have communicated everything which I wanted to say through this film and I am hopefully that people in Pakistan would understand the message too. It already got tremendous feedback from its screening from film festival in Canada, which has further boosted the morale of the whole team.”

While Ishq Khuda bears that 'Lollywood' stamp, the film titled Main Hoon Shahid Afridi stands out as different, not only because it features the name of the legendary Lala of our national cricket team but because it is the first sports-based flick ever produced in the country. But will the movie manage to wow cinema audiences who are not easily pleased? First-time film director Syed Ali Raza (Usama) feels that they have tried to provide an infrastructure with the movie, and even if the film is 'just' well-received, he would be relieved. “Main Hoon Shahid Afridi is a commercial entertaining film that has elements of sports as well as other genres in it. It is a new kind of film from the Pakistani perspective because the sports genre has never been touched in this part of the world. Everything from the processing to the production (except for a little help in the female vocals department) has been done in Pakistan and with this movie, we have tried to provide an infrastructure for newcomers who want to enter the field of filmmaking.”

The young filmmaker seems confident that the sports film will do well, but wouldn't it have been better had it been screened alongside Chennai Express? “No sir, yeh thori zyadti hojati! You can't throw a nursery kid in the race with a student who is in Class V! At this point, we can't compete with Bollywood because their industry is huge compared to ours. The budget of Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani was 9.2 million dollars whereas our film was completed in less than 8 crore rupees, which is exactly the amount in which they film a song (in Bollywood!) Even if the issue of finances is solved, we don't have enough trained people to compete with them, hence we need time to reach the point where we can pose a challenge. And why should we always talk about competition? We can learn from Bollywood films because they have talented directors and actors who do good work and with their help we can improve our standards, slowly and gradually.”

With the battle of Lollywood and just Lollywood on cards, Geo Films is bringing Wolverine in 3D to screens in Pakistan. Rehmat Fazli, CEO of Geo Films believes that the viewers will love the touch of Hollywood this Eid, like always. “We will be bringing Wolverine since it is a hit movie being screened all around the world, and Eid would be the best time to screen it. Since there are a limited number of 3D cinemas in Pakistan, the film would reach a select audience, but we will try to show it in dubbed version (Urdu, to be precise) in smaller cities so that people can relate to it.”

Wolverine is not going to be the only film that will grace the screen in 3D, although it might be the only one dubbed in the national language. Animated films Cinderella and Monsters University will also vie for the limited screen space in multiplexes, whereas The Lone Ranger will set the screen on fire as the non-3D Hollywood entity. So it will either be Main Hoon Shahid Afridi versus Wolverine, Josh versus Ishq Khuda, Monsters University and/or Cinderella vs The Lone Ranger, but nothing at all from across the border...

Actor Gohar Rasheed who plays 'Kaali Aandhi' in Main Hoon Shahid Afridi feels that the (possible) delayed release of Chennai Express will not affect Shah Rukh Khan's movie at all. “I for one will go and watch the movie even if it was released in Pakistan 15 days after its initial release in India because I would watch a Shah Rukh Khan movie anytime on the big screen. I respect the decision by the exhibitors to give space to our films on occasions like Eid, otherwise upcoming filmmakers will be demoralized, and the revival (of Pakistani cinema) on cards might not take place at all!”

Shahzad Rafique agrees with the views of the upcoming actor, believing that the decision of not screening Indian films this time around will help Pakistani cinemas rather than hitting cinema industry badly. “The number of films this Eid are sufficient and all of them are very good productions, whether it's Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, Josh or my film. Making a film in Pakistan is not an easy job as we have no studios here like Hollywood who pump in money and directors just have to look at the creative aspect. I'm sure all these film's directors have put in strong effort behind conceiving and producing the film. There are plenty of hiccups which a filmmaker has to face while making a film in Pakistan and therefore it takes a good deal of time to bring his work to the silver screen. So at least on a festive occasions like Eid, Pakistani films should be given the priority as Indian movies are screened throughout the year without any hindrance.”

The case might be debatable but the verdict, nevertheless, remains that this Eid, local films will have their way. It might be their last chance to prove their mettle because things will turn to normal after Eid ul Fitr. Big-budget Bollywood productions like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Krissh 3, Zanjeer and Satyagraha are likely to set the screens on fire soon after Meethi (sweet) Eid. Akshay Kumar's Once Upon A Time in Mumbai… Dobara  will have to pass through the Censor Board since it is based on a famous Don with links to both Pakistan and India. Hollywood blockbuster Pacific Rim and the biopic of that 'Queen of people’s hearts' Diana might also grace the cinemas in September alongside Bilal Lashari's long-awaited Waar and Mazhar Zaidi's Zinda Bhaag. And they won't have the Eid safety net as a security blanket. If they manage to hold their own, like Shoaib Mansoor's Bol did so admirably, it would definitely strengthen the local film industry.

The viewers in Pakistan want cinemas to show quality movies, they don't care whether the lead actor is Shah Rukh Khan, Humayun Saeed or Hugh Jackman. For them, quality matters the most and that's why they didn't go for the pirated prints of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and waited for the movie to be released in Pakistan, nearly a month later than its release in India. The audience is now mature enough to realize what they need, one hopes the filmmakers become mature as well to deliver what the audience wants. And what they deliver is so strong that the release of impending Bollywood films doesn't strike fear in their hearts.

As competition increases exponentially, Pakistani cinema will become more and more about the survival of the fittest. Here's looking forward to the Pakistani All Stars racing Wolverine this Eid…may the best film win.  
Omair Alavi works for Geo TV and can be contacted at omair78@gmail.com