This Independence Day has brought some glad tidings in the cinematic relations between India and Pakistan. A Pakistani film is being made in collaboration with Indian talent. Releasing this December, “Zinda Bhaag” a small Pakistani film on illegal immigration, could help in reviving Lollywood which has seen a new lease of life after the success of Shoaib Mansoor’s “Bol” and an increasing network of multiplexes in the cities. The film has Naseeruddin Shah in an important role and is shot by Satya Rai Nagpaul, who recently won the National Award for best cinematography for “Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan”.
Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive discussion on “New Pakistani Cinema” organised by Pakistani Studies Programme of Jamia Millia Islamia, the creators of “Zinda Bhaag” talked about the challenges of making cinema happen in a society where social life has moved indoors in the last decade.
“People had not seen a cinema crew on the streets of Lahore for a long time. They would come to congratulate us,” says Mazhar Zaidi, the producer of the film made under South Asia’s Masculinities Film Project. Zaidi says while most decided to make documentaries, they wanted to make their point through a feature film format. “There is hardly any technical facility in Pakistan for cinema. The old structure has collapsed. You could still see those antique cameras which used to be covered with black cloth while shooting. The filmmakers usually hire crews from either Bangkok or Hong Kong. This is perhaps the first time that somebody has tried to explore a partnership with India. The authorities have been supportive on both sides. All our post production work is being done in India,” adds Zaidi.
Talking about concerns about Bollywood’s ‘hegemony’ in the region, co-director Meenu Gaur says, “The golden era of the Pakistani film industry coincided with the golden era of the Hindi film industry. So I don’t know how much Bollywood influence is going to impact the Pakistani film industry in a negative way. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh share a common cultural template and nobody has an exclusive right over it. So words like ‘copy’ or ‘influence’ don’t make sense as you don’t know who is copying whom.” The real competition for both the industries, she adds, is from Hollywood.
An alumna of Jamia and better half of Zaidi, Gaur says the problem of illegal immigration in Pakistan is as rampant as in certain pockets of India. “It is not about poverty. It has become a sort of status symbol where youngsters are pushed to take the dangerous route because some of their family members had done it in the past.”
Shah, who plays one of the agents indulging in human trafficking, conducted a workshop for the cast which is drawn from ordinary people with no experience in acting. “The cast comprises people who have either made these dangerous journeys to European countries, or a member of their family has done it,” says co-director Farjad Nabi. “They understood the emotions but Naseer helped them understand the technicalities of facing the camera which was difficult. He was conscious of the fact that there could be two levels of acting in the same film. So he used to stay on the sets even when his scene was over,” relates Nabi.
Reflecting on the changes in Pakistani cinema, Gaur, who is working on a documentary on “Maula Jatt”, one of the biggest hits in the history of Pakistani cinema, says, “The first multiplex came up in Pakistan in 2005 and around the same time ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ was released in colour in Pakistan. It spiralled a gradual change as people started to come out to watch films. Today there are 38 multiplexes in the country.”
She says the industry suffered during Zia’s regime because of heavy taxation and censorship. It bred shady characters in the business whose aim was to turn black money into white through films. “Though there were exceptions in that era as well. Violent films like ‘Maula Jatt’ were made to bypass censorship. It was a huge hit. ‘Maula Jatt’ was the first film where an inspector was addressed as thanedar . Till then he was addressed as Sahib Bahadur . So there was a strong underpinning of subversion. Its dialogues are quoted even today in Parliament.”
However, the new Pakistani cinema is not an offshoot of the ‘gandasa’ (sickle) culture that “Maula Jatt” spawned in cinema. “Last year four films were released. At least seven independent films are in the process. Their themes tackle concerns of today’s generation. One of them is ‘Kaptan’, which is based on the life and times of Imran Khan,” shares Gaur. Once she saw a crew shooting on the sets of the court, erected for some other film. “I found it the ultimate in guerrilla shooting and imagination, and it tells us something about the craze of cinema in the region.”
On the increasing women-centric subjects in Pakistani cinema and their acceptance in the society, Nabi quotes Shoaib Mansoor. When an agitated man shared his concern about the difficult questions he had to face at home because of “Bol”, Mansoor said, “Like in India no kid watches a film without a parent. In Pakistan no woman watches a film without a male member. When I attract a woman to the theatre, it ensures at least one more ticket is sold.”
