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.
