Monday, June 2, 2008

PAKISTAN ! The hidden Gold Mine for Western Filmmakers

Pakistan is ranked as a third world country in international world having a very very bad reputation। More over we are also gifted with the presents like sue-side bombing (Thanks to GOD they have stopped from last few months), war in northern areas with Taliban and many more issues. I will not say that my country is a piece of heaven on earth. But even it is true that the general public here is very loving and friendly with the people coming from abroad. Even we live our life like the people in US or UK or CANADA live. Though there are some differences which can be taken into account on the basis of culture, custom and traditions but as human beings even we are the same.

The reason to write all this is to tell you that any foreigner coming to Pakistan will not really face the conditions which are normally shown in Western Media. Hats Off to them.
At the current stage if we look at the Film Industry of Pakistan it is really a Gold mine for every filmmaker including the western filmmakers. The reason because of which i am talking about Western Filmmakers is that they have the advantage of currency and modern technology.
Before moving forward i would like to mention that here i am not talking about indie filmmakers। I am talking about normal filmmakers who should have at-least around 50k US dollars with their own HD camera and great grip on lighting department. The amount of 50K US Dollars will easily convert into around 30 to 32 lacks PKR. The amount might look low but still you can easily complete a great movie on digital format and can get a huge market of not only Pakistan but also India, UAE, UK and CANDA.

Normally the high costs of a movie are the result of casting big STAR in a movie। But interestingly in Pakistan the top most Hero is taking around 7 to 10 lacks and he is the only one to get this amount. The second biggest star is taking lower then 5 lacks. In case of casting some one from TV will really make your cost very low. If you will search out on internet you will found not a single name as a star of Pakistan. By which you might think that here is a lack of good and quality actors. But that’s not the truth. Recently a top Pakistani TV actress for the first time worked with one of the best filmmakers of Pakistan and the film was released not only in Pakistan but also in India after around 30 years. The great thing is it was distributed by SONY PICTURES. The name of the Film is KHUDA KE LIE (IN THE NAME OF GOD.) So this shows that at-least we have the potential. The only thing we are missing is a great filmmaker with finance. Because the majority of the financers of Pakistan are not willing to invest due to the poor condition of Pakistani Film industry. May be they are not that much confident nor they have the knowledge of digital filmmaking which will decrease the costs. More over they even don’t have the knowledge of modern film business like pre-selling and any other business plans. One major reason of their lack of confidence is the piracy of Indian movies but it has been proved wrong. When ever a good Pakistani film has been released it has done business and people have gone to cinema houses to watch that movie. In the last few years sadly we have made around 7 quality films and all those have earned revenue (and profits too). Few of them have also been released in other countries like KHUDA KE LIE in India, three local language films in UAE. I don’t the about the rest of them.

So how do Pakistan is a Gold Mine for Western Filmmakers???

The first thing a budget of PKR 25 lacks will be enough for the filmmakers to complete the movie on digital format. They can also get the market of India plus Pakistanis living in UK, US, CANADA and UAE. Due to the absent of quality films and filmmakers the market is completely open for any one who has even little mind. So any good film with high technology will definitely force people to come to CINEMA HOUSES as they are seriously willing to come to cinema.
The filmmakers might think they will have a communication problem with Pakistani people। Well i don’t think so. Hiring actors from TV medium will not cause a problem because they are well educated and can communicate easily in English. And even i will suggest you if you have any plan to make a movie in Pakistan then go with actors and actresses from TV medium. You will just need one extra person in the crew who can communicate well between you and the crew like light-man, spot boys etc.

I personally feel any market where transferring of the currency results as 1(US dollar) = 65(PKR), where there is no competition at the local level because of fear of failure, the costs are low, and people are willing to buy a quality product(meaning willing to go cinema to watch a good movie) is really a gold mine.

I request you after reading this post do take part in the poll and tell weather YOU think PAKISTAN IS A GOLD MINE FOR WESTERN FILMMAKERS or not?????


REGARDS

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