The Pakistani film industry has seen quite the revival in
the past few years. From its humble days of shooting films on Clifton to full
on “Bollywood-esque” party songs in Bangkok. It’s safe to say that Lollywood is
going places. Huge movies and with all star casts dazzled all over Pakistan and
catered to full houses, from north to south. For me, two movies really stood
out, not only for their plot but also how they reflect the general masses’
preferences with regards to entertainment. This duo is none other than Sarmad
Khoosat’s “Manto” and Nadeem Baig’s “Jawaani Phir Nahi Aani (JPNA)”.
While Manto was a thought provoking biopic of none other
than Sadat Hasan Manto, JPNA was 2 hours of slapstick comedy (and badly
choreographed dances). Each movie was incredible in its own right and proved to
be benchmarks for what the rest of the industry should aspire to achieve.
However, if we look at box office numbers, Manto’s earnings were a drop in the
water compared to JPNA’s. This sets off alarm bells in my mind.
Manto was a movie that required the viewer’s total and
undivided attention. Nothing in the movie was stated obviously and it therefore
encouraged the audience to all have different viewpoints. That’s what was
really unique about this movie, everyone came out with a different relationship
and understanding with it. Now, on the other hand we have people who really did
not follow the movie, and I totally get that, Manto was not meant for everyone.
JPNA was a movie that captured almost all segments of the
market. Who doesn’t love a through and through comedy movie? What really
impressed me about JPNA was how “Pakistani” it was. The jokes weren’t borrowed
from anywhere but were rooted in the pop culture references of today. My only
beef with the production were the songs, the dances and the extreme “in your
face” product placement.
What the stark contrast between plots and earnings shows us
is that the general audience in Pakistan is not mature enough for movies like
Manto. This message must have gone to the film industry loud and clear, but the
question is how will Lollywood react? Will it choose to stick to its guns and
run back to doing what it knows?
If Lollywood stays in its comfort zone then all its movies
will become uniform and there would be no variety. It would be in that moment
that Pakistanis would move to Hollywood and Bollywood. The success of an
industry is not to conform to the general masses likes and dislikes, it is to
create new likes for them through the movies they make. I know a lot of people
who didn’t like superhero movies earlier, but when Hollywood made them all
glitzy and shiny, those seem people were dragging me to the cinema.
As people evolve so do their thought processes, a person’s
mindset and thinking are never stagnant. Lollywood has a huge opportunity here
to sculpt the mind of the general population. People learn a lot from movies,
and this has now become a powerful way of transmitting knowledge. I hope the
film industry sees this and is not discouraged by earnings etc. It would be a
shame to see Lollywood returning to its old self, because it has the chance to
grow and change the way it does movies.
Since Lollywood is picking up again, it shouldn’t focus on
the earnings but rather on churning out good quality films and varying genres.
It should focus on differentiating each movie from the other and creating its
niche. This metamorphosis is so urgently needed and Lollywood would do a great
injustice with itself if it doesn’t take this chance.
