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In recent times we have seen some filmmakers' attempts to lend a
new voice to Pakistan film other than that of the mediocrity of
'masala mix' films. With the fresh buzz about Made in Pakistan and
Slackistan, the festival circuit tour de force that was Ramchand
Pakistani and the box office success of Khuda Kay Liye, our film
industry could use energetic, dedicated institutions capable of
elevating the country's vast but secluded new film voices onto the
national and international scene. Khuda Kay Liye was much publicized
and billed as a movie that would finally ignite the non-existent
'revival of cinema' flame. Amid much media hype the film was distributed
and publicized by Geo to a very successful result. Without a doubt
the movie was a roaring success locally and even garnered attention
from beyond our borders. A budget for such a film is at best astronomical,
but with the army funding the project, it all of a sudden seemed
conceivable. Granted the situation in the country at the time and
the issue tackled in the film intrigued the General's men, but there
was no follow-up venture.
Due to the lack of frequency of such films we saw the desertion
of any efforts to resuscitate our industry from a comatose state.
However, cinemas have been revived but credit to that has to go
to the Bollywood bigwigs who seem to produce a movie every time
they sneeze. Thanks to the Goliath of an industry across the border,
our cinemas aren't willing to show Pakistani films on a regular
basis, in the fear that our David will not be able to win this battle.
As a result our filmmakers get enticed to write for the budding
television industry instead of laboring on a blockbuster. This is
clearly evident in present circumstances. If you go pick up any
newspaper to check the local listings for movies playing at our
cinemas, you would be hard pressed to find a single Pakistani movie.
As of now, topping the makeshift Pakistani box office is 2012, an
epic, big budget, disaster flick. Aside from that you will find
Indian movies such as Rocket Singh and De Dana Dan, and not to mention
the tweeny vampire success New Moon. Competing with these big budget
ventures for local filmmakers becomes an arduous process. For the
affluent filmmakers of Pakistan it is an easier process to get their
tale written and projected on a big screen. They can use their contacts
to avail the appropriate resources to display their talent of story-telling
with relative ease. Films such as Slackistan are examples of this
as Hammad Khan had a very low budget but still prevailed because
of his experiences and the know-how. For students from lower income
classes this is more difficult. The culprits accused of the hijacking
of the film industry are the usual suspects. The line-up includes
the banks and bureaucrats who shy away from perilous yet profound
cultural art due to return on investment (ROI) concerns. Next to
the financiers, standing arm in arm, are the political uncertainty
and security threat twins. Looking lonely in the middle are the
institutions responsible for educating the future voices and finally
last but not least, under the Harry Potter invisibility cloak, our
inefficient or non-existent film industry. They are accused of turning
filmmakers into TV hacks. Artists made to abandon their dreams to
provide for their families. They are accused of suppressing the
cinema going and multiplex owning public. Most of all their biggest
crime is to destroy the hopes and dreams of countless voices wanting
to be heard and the myriad of stories that want to be told. Students
of film, who aspire to be the next Scorsese or the closer to home
Vishal Bhardwaj, often have many complaints from the institutions
set-up to educate them in the art. Lack of equipment and funding,
and constant compromise on quality due to an absence of specialization
in the various processes of filmmaking are common concerns amongst
this group of dreamers. Ali Gul, a student in the Media Sciences
department at Szabist complained about the equipment that is available.
"Because of the shortage of equipment we have time constraints,
since we have to book the equipment and rely on the other students
to return it on time." Zeeshan, who is in the same boat as
Ali, fears that because of the Òinefficient industryÓ
he will be forced to take to television like many before him. These
concerns are paramount to the advancement of the future generations
of filmmakers in Pakistan. While resources for most students are
next to nil they strive to realize their dreams.
 Some
students compromise on the relevance or content of the subject or
story being told so that they can get the taste they crave. It becomes
very much like showing a child the wonders of the world and then
telling them they will never see them. While they have no grievances
with the faculty or the curriculum, they sometimes feel that the
theories that are taught would be better availed with more hands
on experience. "I was at Iqra before where most of the work
was based on theory and very little practical work", said a
student who swapped Iqra University for Indus Valley. "Teachers
need to be more practical and dedicate their time to the students
and the future voices of Pakistan to adequately display their unique
stories. It is like teaching a child how to ride a bike. You hold
on, reassuring and giving him confidence till the point comes to
let go and he just goes on paddling," says Najaf Bilgrami an
aspiring filmmaker and professor of film at Indus Valley and Szabist.
"We have to be able to pass the torch and make sure it stays
lit," he said while attending to students at the Indus Valley
campus in the wee hours of the morning. His dedication is evident
in the high regard many of his students and fellow faculty members
hold him in. Najaf, like other striving filmmakers, had to fund
his own recent venture for which he has taken most of the responsibility.
Najaf also believes that what our industry needs are more daring
filmmakers who are willing to step out of the boundaries to create
a profound work of art. The reason why there is a dearth of "kamikaze
filmmakers" is due to many reasons like the ease of writing
for television as a source of income. Writing an adequate script
for the big screen requires more time and effort for which the financial
compensation is minimal, which often results in writers and filmmakers
relying on the television industry to provide for their families.
There are other limitations involved as well such as our very ambiguous
censorship laws and the scarcity of spaces for creative expression.
Other problems for our industry are the lack of resources and foresight.
 Most
artists involved in film and music production on our soil have often
gone over to our more resourceful and industrious neighbors to seek
their fame and fortunes. That is a good start as it goes miles for
gaining credibility for those individuals. That credibility in turn
should be injected back into our industry in the form of diligent
production houses, studios and to invite filmmakers from around
the world to come and practice and preach their art. One such venture
that has taken an initiative towards educating, promoting and inspiring
new talent is the KaraFilm festival. The seven-year-old endeavor
has attracted producers and directors from beyond our borders. The
focal point at Kara is Hasan Zaidi, the director, an entrepreneurial
individual who has designs on evolving our film industry from the
challenges it faces today. There are many initiatives that prominent
Pakistani producers and directors can take. Hasan Zaidi had previously
made proposals to set a foundation for institutions that could support
aspiring filmmakers. In most professions Pakistan generally relies
on apprenticeship to teach crafts to eager learners. Regarding the
tremendous strides Bollywood has taken in recent times he said,
"Ideally, considering our learning methods, we should be able
to bring in specialized institutional help to teach people in our
industry the importance of each aspect of filmmaking. We also need
more specialized and adequate institutions to teach students about
the importance of each of these aspects. Up until the 60's we were
on par with our neighbors, but then they started building specialized
institutions for the industry and we are seeing a result of that
now." The main deterrent to inviting experienced foreign assistant
producers or cameramen is our political instability and safety concerns.
According to Hasan the practicality involved in working with experienced
individuals coupled with efficient theory, will help create innovation
amongst the filmmakers. "No one knows when to break the boundaries,
for which you have to know the boundaries. You have to understand
the rule so that when you break it, when you innovate, you can justify
it." We should also take inspiration from foreign film industries
that thrive in a culture similar to ours. If we take India's blueprint
on Bollywood we can see why they were successful. They kept their
formulaic storyline of boy meets girl, rich against poor or romance
and violence in the villages. In the meantime, through the success
of these films they established studios, specialized educational
institutes and made funding readily available, which is evident
in their gargantuan annual output which dwarfs even Hollywood. We
are now seeing the result of all that in budding filmmakers being
innovative and tearing away from the traditional storylines and
methods. Understandably creating something of our neighbor's caliber
is somewhat of an unrealistically lofty ambition. Both Hasan Zaidi
and Najaf Bilgrami prefer to draw parallels with Iranian cinema.
Najaf feels that "We need to build our image in present times,
we need to mirror it, the way Iran does, through our film by showcasing
present and past issues." Hasan added that we need to "churn
out cinema like the Iranians who have their own set of problems
but still manage to overcome them. We need to do it on a more frequent
basis as well, not just one movie which creates the buzz about the
revival of cinema and then having to wait two or three years for
another one." It would take an assiduous mind, or two, to form
a company and gather an assortment of up-and-coming writers and
directors. Aside from promoting and guiding the new talent they
can also work on the progress of their own careers simultaneously
so that no stone is left unturned. A partnership with any international
distribution and production house will benefit the industry and
will help local independent filmmakers to reach out to a wider audience
and still feel motivated, by seeing a positive ROI coupled with
a good response. Locally there is a lack of infrastructure which
allows films to be distributed.
 This
is largely a part of the piracy that exists here. This either turns
people into average filmmakers or then makes them look abroad for
distribution to get a positive return on investment. Hasan agrees
with the lack distribution infrastructure here, "We have to
look abroad for distribution and screenings if we want to makes
something substantial." Hasan had ideas on setting up an organization
which could help in the distribution of film, along with other aspects,
but finding dedicated people and financial difficulties hindered
his vision. Proposals can be put forth to the government and high-end
bureaucrats but in the end there is little action taken despite
their initial interests. Until Pakistan's security concerns and
the waywardness of politicians are lessened filmmakers will find
it difficult to develop and demonstrate their talents and tales.
This is why the government has a major role to play in the advancement
of our industry. They need to find projects to promote and fund
to help propel Pakistan's voice, which at present is a whisper.
Apropos the unfortunate state of affairs in our country there is
a lot of material to be filmed and written about. Ideas are aplenty
with social justice, political uncertainties, international relations
and the various calamities in Pakistan's history to date. The initial
focus of the productions can be on documentaries and short films
that showcase these issues. We can even showcase the life that often
goes unseen in the international media's eyes, like the fashion
shows amongst other events. For this we need a credible industry
capable of producing a quality product. A venture like this would
not be a simple task by any means. As we know our nation doesn't
take too well to any variations, in fact they often result in some
sort of a pandemonium. However Najaf Bilgrami put it best when he
paraphrased Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come."
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