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Films can bridge cultural divide’
By
Shahab Ansari
LAHORE:
“OUR film industry is a solution to the socio-economic chaos, which
our country is facing.” Discussing the current situation in the film
industry with The News, Pakistan Film Exhibitors Association
Chairman Jahanzeb Baig added, “The Situation is quite bad. Cinema is
a part of society and it is also in the grip of uncertainty, which
is affecting everything.î
He said, ìWe have to come up with a long term comprehensive economic
plan to stand back on our feet”. Jahanzeb said that we must put
relevant people in the higher office in the Cultural Ministry who
knew its basics. ìWe do not have a Cultural Minister for the last
one year then how can we believe in the statements being issued by
the officials about survival and revival of the film industry.î He
said the film industry was not only the face of the nation but it
was an integral part of our economic system. He said we must ask
that was this industry worthy to spend our time on and was it
economically and culturally important and was it an effective medium
to educate the masses and a tool to project the image of our
country.
He said if we answered any one of the above-mentioned points in yes
then we want the government to give top priority to this sector so
that we counter the ever-growing cultural divide. He said the need
of the hour was to communicate with the world and use our media’s
lighter side, which was the film industry. Karan Johar’s movie
“Kabhi Alwida Na Kehna” is an example of the power of the film to
address the sensitive social issues in society and to start a
healthy debate on such issues.
He said it could be used to keep the people informed and sensitize
them and involve the masses in the important socio-political issues
of the society through the films so that they do not feel left out.
About the cultural divide in our society and how we can bridge it,
he said not only the media but also the film was a very effective
tool if used properly for this. Pakistanis are more inclined towards
Indian culture rather their own and its solely due to the Indian
movies, he added. Jahanzeb Baig said we have impressed the world by
making “Khuda Key Liye”, why cannot we do it again frequently?
He said the idea of importing Indian films for the revival of
Pakistani cinemas was short-lived for the question was of survival
not the revival. He said It has been two years now when we took the
initiative and allowed Indian films to give our cinema industry a
boost but we failed to take initial steps, which included direct
investment from not only the government but also from the private
sector. He said we just canít leave everything to the private
sector, it need to be supervised and monitored by the government as
well but there was less interest from the government in terms of
supervising .
He said last year, there were about more than 200 cinemas
nationwide; whereas, now there were not more than 140 cinemas of
which only 90 are operational as most of them were fast shutting
down and turning into more commercially profitable outfits. Jahanzeb
Baig sent an SOS to all the stakeholders in the film industry and
the government to take immediate action. He said there was a
comprehensive proposal with the government, which showed step by
step plan of not only surviving in these difficult times but also
towards the revival of the film. He said we were hopeful about this
proposal however; the problem seemed to be lack of initiative on the
governmentís part.
He said unfortunately wrong kind of people were doing wrong kind of
jobs, as there were people who had been the chairmen of the
Producers Association but never ever made a singe movie. He said
then how one could expect a good result. ìNo camera man, no
director, actor, no cinema owner, now distributor and no menial
staff of the film industry can change the present scenario. Its only
the people, with professional production experience who understand
not only the technical aspects of this business but also the pulse
of the people can put this industry on its right path again.
The News :Tuesday, May
19, 2009
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