Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Failure of Bollywood Movies in Pakistan !

Due to the failure of several Pakistani Films and entrance of non-professional filmmakers and financers Pakistani Film Industry suffered for around 15 years. Yes Lollywood haven’t seen a good financial year for last 15 years. Success of a movie or two has been the only results we got after making many movies. And then a time came when there were literally lock on the studio door. Cinema Houses were beginning to change into shopping malls (they are still turning to malls). After looking all this a group made a plan which was not new but was not currently active in Pakistan for several years. The idea was simple , and it was to bring Indian movies again in Pakistan and show then cinemas ! It looked a great idea. On the other hand there was also a group which (due to patriotism) never wanted Indian films to get released in Pakistan. Though the government made some foolish policies like no Indian movie will be released without a Pakistani financer and no Indian movie will be released with complete shooting in India (fools Paradise).


The group which was against the release of Indian movies had people like SHAN (the biggest Film Star of Pakistan) Yousuf Khan(X-Chairman of Censor Board) and on the other hand the group in favor of Indian movies had powerful people like film distributors and cinema owners. The truth is that money has more power than anything. After long quarrel the group in favor of Bolly-wood movies won and in 2006 released the old great classic of Bolly-wood “MUGHL-E-AZAM”. The movie had been changed from black and white to color and still did good business in India. Pakistani group was expecting this movie to be a big hit in Pakistan too but it was wrapped up more quickly than it was released. Instead of this a Pakistani movie did more great business in Pakistan. Experts still believe that due to the piracy the movie had been shown to every film lover in Pakistan and being a very old movie it got flop. The next turn was again of a big (in terms of investment) movie “TAJ MAHAL”. Having a story of old period it was a big flop even in INDIA. From that day lot of Indian films have been released in Pakistan but the result have been confusing. Every film released in Pakistan has already been showed up by local cable operators but few film have done good business.


Till now 17 Indian films have been released in Pakistan from which only 5 have been able to make some business. The film earning highest revenue from Pakistan is “AWAARAPAN” which according to some newspapers have earned 2 Billion(PKR) and according to some its revenue has been 1.5 Billion(PKR). From which a local cinema NISHAT Cinema had a share of 25 lacks.


The confusing thing about Pakistani market is that all the movies released in Pakistan were already released on CDs and DVDs then why out of 17 only 5 were able to make good business? The recent news is that Pakistani importers have gained a loss of around 70 Billion PKR by importing Bolly-wood movies which were either flop or didn’t got the permission to get released in Pakistan(may be no bribe was offered to the censor board J). This is a big amount and if the financers would have showed some patriotism and intelligence Pakistan could have been able to make some good movies !

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Alas ! Pakistan did it…

After a long time there is a good news from Pakistan film industry। Pakistan television’s famous director Mehreen Jabbar has come up with a great movie which can no doubt be ranked as a movie of international quality in terms of story and technicalities. The story revolves around a small Hindu boy Ramchand who lives in a village of Pakistan near PAK-INDIA border. He by mistake crosses the border and now the struggle of a family starts. Weather the family gets together or not that is still suspense as the movies is not yet released. It will soon get released this year.

The important notes about the film are:


1) The film has been completely shot on HD F900 Cinealta and this is the first time any Pakistani movies has been made on HD
2) The film has been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival 2008, New York.
3) The film has been selected for the Rhode Island International Film Festival
4) The filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar has taken help of cinematographer SOPHIAN KHAN who is the founder of NEWYORK based production house Capital K Pictures
5) One of the most expensive film of Pakistan’s cinema history. The estimated budget is $ 600,000/-.(Though 600,000 looks a small amount but looking in the scenario of Pakistani cinema industry and the currency difference it becomes a big amount, and a big risk too)
6) Film’s Media Partner is the Number 1 Satellite TV channel of Pakistan GEO TV CHANNEL


After a long time Pakistani cinema one after the other has released two films which are capable of getting worldwide release

You can get more info about the film from
http://www.ramchandpakistani.com


I will personally suggest all the readers to must visit the crew link of the site where you will find some shocking information like of Associate Producer who in the team of Mighty Heart (sounds great) etc.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Fresh Breath for Pakistani Cinema Industry

At-last Pakistan Film Industry got a chance to breath, and breath well। The movie Khulay Aaman Ke Neeche (KAKN) got released after a long period of 6 years. The film is produced and directed by Javed Sheikh, the famous actor of lollywood. The last super hit film made by director producer JAVED SHEIKH was Yeh DIL App ka Huaa which was also a big hit .


First of all talking about the Director/Producer Javed Sheikh. He has become a more popular personality in subcontinent after working in super hit movie of Bollywood “Om Shanti Om” in which he played the role of the father of King Khan. Javed Sheikh is always ranked as a top class actor in Pakistan having the abilities like determination and hard working (which you will not find easily in many Pakistani filmmakers these days). He is also known as an intelligent businessman. That is the reason he got able to make the most expensive film of Pakistan’s film history. Javed Sheikh has smartly worked on marketing strategy of the film, making the largest film posters of KAKN in Pakistani cinema history. The posters are placed all over the big cities of Pakistan like Karachi, Lahore, and Faisal-abad etc. Other then the marketing strategies he is also backed up by Star Cast having acrots like Nadeem (the super star of olden days) saleem sheikh (brother of Javed Sheikh) Humayun Saeed(the leading TV star of Pakistan also playing the lead role in the movie)and Sana(Leading actress) along with Meera and Javed Sheikh himself.



Javed Sheikh









Nadeem








Sana


Coming towards the movie itself, it’s a typical Pakistani love story having emotions, family relations etc। The film is well equipped by music of Late Amjad Boby along with Jeet Ganguly। Technically well made and every shot is is a result of hard work. The film is working exceptionally well on box office getting booked in advance and people are still coming to see the movie. The most interesting thing is that recently released indian movie “Love Story 2050” was even failed to stand against KAKN. Which made the statement correct that if a good Pakistani film is made, Pakistani people will prefer it on any other movie.


The film is being showed in reputable cinemas of Karachi and lahore (where the environment is much better than the cinemas of other cities). And expectations are that this film will give tough time to the next big movie of Pakistan “RAM CHAND PAKISTANI”

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Think big

‘Four years ago, if you had a video and you wanted people to see it, you had to invite them
all over to your house for a beer. With the web, it’s possible to produce a movie with almost
no budget and get a million people to watch it.’
David Trescot, group product manager at Adobe, giving his view
about the ease with which you can now go out and make movies
There is no doubt that with a camcorder and an Internet connection you have one of the most powerful
tools for communicating. If you have the energy and the will you can shoot a short movie on any
subject, in your own unique style, show it to a global audience, and promote and advertise it yourself.
You are more in control of the filmmaking process than any previous generation, and furthermore have
less need for the established industry than ever before. Changes to the film industry as entertainment
and as an art form are here to stay, and simply by possessing an Internet connection, a camcorder and
basic editing software you are a part of it.
This is a great opportunity, but you may now be getting a sense of the problem that goes with it.
Although inspiring, for many this is daunting. As the spotlight moves your way the need to have developed
yourself as a filmmaker is profound; you need to find out what kind of films you make, how to come
up with ideas good enough to film and how to get the knowledge that makes other people take you seriously.
Your only obligation is to stand out from the crowd, do your own thing, don’t emulate what
everyone else is doing when the whole world starts making movies. Take advantage of this moment
and start getting to know what it is that a movie by you looks like.
This isn’t a new phenomenon even if the technology is in its infancy. Some of the finest directors have
started their careers making films on no budgets, with no help from big studios. David Lynch made the
classic film Eraserhead (1976) at weekends over a number of years while holding down a day job; within
five years of its release he was being offered the chance to direct Return of the Jedi. George Romero made
his seminal zombie film Night of the Living Dead (1969) with almost no funds, relying on the commitment
of friends willing to be part-time zombies, but without being paid. Robert Rodriguez went from
making a film with a borrowed camera – El Mariachi (1992) – to making hit films such as From Dusk Till
Dawn (1995) and Spy Kids (2001)।


The difference for today’s filmmakers is that you can go further. Not only can you get hold of good
cameras capable of broadcast quality images, but you can edit these films at home without having to
endure the budget-crippling prices of the rent-by-the-hour edit unit. When it’s finished you can show
it on one of the many web cinemas, short film festivals or TV access slots. The potential is there to
place your short movies in millions of homes around the world.
Digital video has affected the independent, low-budget filmmaker more than any other part of the film
industry. These self-financing, ultra-resourceful people would make movies whatever it cost them and
however long it takes. But it is now a realistic aim to say that you want to make movies and do so without
mortgaging your soul. All you need is a camcorder, a computer, a limitless imagination and the
desire to tell it your way.