Pakistan Has Only 161 Cinema Screens for 200 Million Population!

Pakistani film industry is evidently flourishing and recent Eid ul Adha when all the films released were Pakistani, further validated this boom.

However, there’s one sector – deeply related to film industry – that is still lagging behind. The plight of cinema owners and industry is still unheard and while the fraternity and audiences continue to grow with exponential increase in opportunities, the number of cinema screens in Pakistan is still unmatched to cater the large number of cinema goers.

As per a digital media outlet, the total number of cinema screens in Pakistan – which has presumably grown over the years – is not more than 161. Out of these, as many as 59 are in Lahore, whereas both Balochistan and Sindh (which includes the largest city Karachi) have only a handful of 39 screens!

Chairman Pakistan Exhibitor Association Zoraiz Lashari while talking to the outlet said, “The reason of greater number of screens in Lahore is that initially Lahore was the hub of film production, and while that has changed, the populace in Lahore is still more accustomed to the idea of going to a cinema to watch a movie.”

Adding further he said, ”However, there’s a very slow growth in number of cinema screens and that is mainly on the back of massive land and construction costs for cinemas and much more than that, the running cost of a cinema house is too expensive.”

The Chairman shared his appeal to the higher up authorities to ease up the taxation, utility costs and provide benefit to cinema owners so that this industry can also grow and cater to the needs of large number of cinema goers – which is by the way still on the rise.

We hope that this message gets across and in near future we see an exponential increase in cinema screens of Pakistan that benefits everyone associated to the entertainment industry.

Meera, Osman Khalid Butt to share screen space for first time

KARACHI: Saqib Malik’s long-awaited directorial debut for the big screen, titled Baaji will soon be nearing completion. A social drama-cum-thriller set against the backdrop of a fading Lollywood and the emerging new order of the Pakistan film industry, Baaji promises to be a film with a difference, stated a press release.

Penned by Irfan Ahmed Urfi and Saqib himself, Baaji’s storyline aims to deliver a sizzling dose of high glamour and intense drama. Although the film is a homage of sorts to the riveting story and character oriented classics of Pakistani cinema of the 70s, Baaji will, however, be very contemporary in its tone and treatment.

The film boasts of a unique and stellar lineup of actors, including Meera making her comeback in a career-defining title role. Showstopper supermodel Aamna Ilyas, who recently stole the show in 7 Din Mohabbat In, will also be proving her acting prowess as the female lead

The men in the film should equally hold their own with Osman Khalid Butt leading a crew that includes Mohsin Abbas Haider and Ali Kazmi in pivotal roles. Nisho, the Lollywood star of yesteryear, will be seen in a strong supporting role, along with the highly sought after Nayyar Ejaz.

Musically, Baaji should also hit all the right notes with names like Zeb Bangash, Jamal Rahman, Taha Malik and the legendary maestro of Pakistani cinema, Taffoo, contributing to the film. Audiences will surely wait with bated breath for Baaji to hit the screens in mid-2019.

Cake Shortlisted for Oscar Consideration in 'Foreign Language Film Award’ Category!

Aaminah Sheikh and Sanam Saeed starrer “CAKE” has been selected to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 91st Academy Awards. The selection has been made by Pakistani Academy Selection Committee, chaired by two-time Emmy and Academy Award winning film maker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories including 'Best Foreign Language Film' in January 2019. The complete and final list of Oscar nominees will be announced on January 22nd, 2019 with the presentation show for the 91st Academy Awards scheduled to take place on February 24th, 2019.

Chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the selection committee includes Kamila Shamshi [Novelist], Saira Kazmi [Actress and Director}, HM Naqvi [Novelist], Hadiqa Kiani [singer, song writer, and philanthropist], Ali Sethi [Singer and writer]. Zoe Viccaji [Singer, Song-writer, and musical actress], Nadeem Farooq Paracha [Journalist, author, and cultural critic], Nabila Maqsood [Haistylist and entrepreneur], Khalid Malik [Actor and Radio Jockey] and Faisal Qureshi [Actor].

First Look of Paray Hut Love is Here - Is Mahira Still On-Board?

Asim Raza’s second directorial Paray Hut Love has been in the news for quite a while now. First it was Mahira Khan’s exit (or not) and Maya Ali’s entry that made waves in the news and now it’s the first look of the movie – credit the director himself – that has caught the attention of media and masses alike.

Since the first shoot spell for the movie, in Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir, has completed, Asim took the opportunity to share ‘first look’ of his second silver-screen project starring Sheheryar Munawar and Maya Ali and we are now rooting for more!

While Asim and Sheheryar has been a perfect combo in their previous co-produced Ho Mann Jahan starring Sheheryar, Mahira and Adeel Hussain; the duo has this time boarded quite a unique cast on-board. Including but not limited to, Ahmed Ali Butt, Zara Noor Abbas and of course the lead lady Maya Ali are all promising actors who will be featured in this rom-com.

In earlier news it came into everyone’s knowledge that Asim’s last lead lady Mahira had to quit the project due to schedule issues. However as per Gulf News, Mahira might not be completely 'Paray' from the 'Love' scene in the movie! As quoted by the news outlet’s sources, ‘Mahira will make a very special post-interval entry in the movie, and the second half will be all or mostly about her. Presumably, the story will shape up into a love triangle.'

Now we must say that the hype around PHL is increasing at quite a pace already, and we can’t wait to know more of this movie which is expected to release on Eid Ul Adha 2019! Stay tuned as we bring in all itsy-bitsy of this very anticipated production.

Is This For Real? Meera Praises Mahira Khan!

It seems that the Lollywood star was so impressed by Mahira, that she too paid a visit to under-privileged children

Miracles never cease to occur! At least that's what we had to say when Meera, who has never shied away from bashing Mahira Khan, in her latest tweet praised Mahira. But what exactly happened that made Meera have a change of heart? Well read along to find out.

But before we get in to the latest news, let's recap a bit to last year where she made no secret of retaliating against the praises and endorsement that Mahira was receiving from the media. “The trend of promoting Mahira Khan should end, there are other actors in the industry too,” once said Meera.

Fast forward to this year and Meera has a change of heart due to Mahira lending her support to the Afghan refugee children. As she herself tweeted:

Having been inspired so much by the two leading ladies, Meera herself immediately got down to doing some good deeds of her own too!

Now where we can say that Meera was copying Mahira and trying to steal a bit of the limelight, right there we rather take the positive approach and state that it is always good to take inspiration from one another and help those in need.

Both Mahira and Meera are Pakistan's assets and if they choose to work together to help under-privileged kids live a better life then there's no better collaboration!

Stars Come Out and Donate to Support PM Dam Fund

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed the nation to donate money to build the two crucial dams Daimir and Bhasha for the country. The PM shared that as per the alarming situation in the decrease of water level, Pakistan might face drought conditions by 2025.

In his address to the nation, he said, "I want to take over the fund-raising and want overseas Pakistanis to contribute like they used to do for the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.

" Earlier, the Chief Justice of Pakistan had urged the nation to donate as well. After that, Chief of Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa donated Rs1 billion on behalf of Pak Army and its officers. With large number of people donating for the dams, our celebrities have also come out to support the cause by donating money. Shahid Afridi announced Rs5 lac and Rs10 lac fund from SA Foundation.

Whereas, Hamza Ali Abbasi also announced that he has donated Rs3 lac to the fund. Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa - in his personal capacity - also donated his one-month salary for the construction of Daimer-Basha and Mohmand dams.

Atif Aslam becomes another celebrity to join the bandwagon and has donated Rs25 lac to the dam funds. Also, Pakistan's umpire Aleem Dar announced that he will be contributing $10,000 to the dams fund project.

In addition to these awesome celebs, Pakistan cricket team will also be donating Rs32 lac for the construction of dams. All in all, with the contribution of public and noted personalities, the dam fund has collected Rs2 billion so far. Way to go Pakistanis!

Animated Movie Tick Tock All Set for TV Premiere

HUM TV’s animated movie Tick Tock that was released on March 23rd this year, did not fare well on local cinema and raised some serious questions over the bar of animated movies in Pakistan. Those who went to watch it termed it as very basic and amateurish animation that should be aired on TV instead of being put up in cinemas.

It seems as if the makers have taken the feedback of cinema-goers way too seriously as the film is now all set to premiere on TV over weekend.

As per HUM TV’s official Facebook Page, the animated film will premiere on World TV today Sunday, 9th of September at 5:50 pm.

Directed by Omar Hassan and produced by Sana Tauseef, Tick Tock is about two teenagers Dania and Hassan who join their teacher KK on an adventure filled with time travel. They have to stop the villain Gobo from changing the history of Pakistan for the worse.

The adventure-filled series, that features voices of talk show host Maria Memon and actors Aly Khan, Ahsan Khan and Ghulam Mohiuddin, basically aims to educate children on history.

Let's see how this premiere is received by the audiences specially young children.

2 Spectacular Animated Movies to Release this Fall!

Pakistani film fraternity has progressed a whole lot over the last few years and while we can’t help but root for our feature films, there’s another genre that’s rapidly catching up and showing the talent of Pakistani artists in animation arena.

Earlier this year we saw Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor and Tick Tock, both of whom garnered attention from children as well as adults for their storyline and exceptional animation effects. Now, the news is that by fall of this year we will have two more animated movies’ release in our local cinemas.

Under the Geo Films Banner, The Donkey King starring ‘Jan Mangu’ as the protagonist who wishes to become king of the jungle, will be released by October 2018. Directed by Commander Safeguard fame Aziz Jindani, the teasers of the film look promising and we are already excited to see the glimpse of what looks like an internationally competitive animation.

The second movie to release by the end of this year needs no introduction. Sequel of 3 Bahadur, a Sharmeen Obaid’s directorial 3 Bahadur 3 is all set to grace our cinema houses. This time the Bahadurs have more challenges to combat, and have a talking monkey and orange haired warrior Erma too. We are sure of this one going to be yet another hit like its prequels! The film will be released under the banner of ARY Films.

Albeit that Pakistan has just started out in the domain – where the international cinemas saw Finding Dory to be the highest grossing film of 2016 with a total business of $486 million – the future looks promising. With more large production houses coming in the genre, and moviegoers appreciating the animation sector, we are quite hopeful to see a whole lot of animated productions coming in next few years. Until then enjoy the upcoming fall releases, we are surely excited!

Just In: Humayun Saeed reveals JPNA-3 in works

The sequel of JPNA is doing wonders on the Box office and has clearly won out of the other two Eid releases: Load Wedding and Parwaaz Hai Junoon. While we had all noticed a change in the storyline in the sequel, we thought it was an unconscious attempt by the makers but Humayun Saeed just revealed that this was done deliberately.

‘It was a conscious decision because no matter how great a film you make, they’ll always draw comparisons or find the first one better,’ said the producer cum actor in a recent interview with a local daily.

Humayun played a young romantic hero in the film opposite Kubra Khan. When asked whether he receives a lot of criticism on playing larka-type roles, he said, ‘The boy within me hasn’t died yet (laughs). And as long as he lives, you’ll get to see him and people will like him.’ "I’m sure there are people out there who don’t like my work, but I would’ve been worried had they not been there," added Humayun.

Drawing a funny comparison between his age and that of leading Bollywood and Hollywood heroes, he called himself ‘a bacha’ for now. "All over the world, we see heroes leading films at 60; I’m a bacha in front of them. Shah Rukh Khan, etc are about a decade older than me,’ Humayun added in his usual humorous style.

" Expressing his sorrow about Load Wedding’s failure at box office, the actor said that he has always been against release of two or more films on the same day and reiterated this during promotions as well. "I was never happy about two more films releasing with mine. One of them was bound to drown and it could’ve been mine too. Unfortunately, it was Load Wedding. I’m honestly upset that it hasn’t done well, he said.

‘At the end of the day, it’s the public’s decision. JPNA 2 is doing well not because I’m sending people to watch it, but because the public is coming out,’ added the Dillagi actor. Humayun concluded the interview with a great news for fans and announced that another installment of JPNA will be coming out in next two years.

Box Office Alert: JPNA 2 Is On A Roll - No Sign of Slowing Down!

One of the most highly anticipated movie this year has to be Jaawani Phir Nahi Aani 2 aka JPNA 2 which saw the return of Ahmed Ali Butt, Humayun Saeed and Vasay Chaudhry in their respective roles of the prequel. Albeit that Hamza Ali Abbasi bowed out, the audiences were enthralled with the addition of Fahad Mustafa who, frankly speaking, did a superb job.

Released alongside Load Wedding and Parwaaz Hai Junoon, JPNA 2 shows no sign of slowing down as it continues to make waves on the box office both locally and in international markets!

Directed by Nadeem Baig and written by Vasay Chaudhry, we personally feel that the first part was outstanding compared to the latest but then again at the end of the day it is the audiences who decide which movie is a hit and which is a flop.

The audiences have clearly chosen JPNA 2 and it was Humayun Saeed who took to his social media to share the good news of the film continuing to make big money even after 12 days of its release. The movie so far has made a total of Rs42.60 crores - with local earnings of Rs29.63 crores and overeseas number standing high at Rs12.97 crores to make it an outstanding number for a Pakistani release.

Besides the leading men, JPNA 2 also saw the return of Sarwat Gillani and Uzma Khan along with the addition of Kubra Khan and Mawra Hocane where the duo played the love interests of Humayun and Fahad quite nicely.

Iqra Aziz in Search of 'Perfect Script' to Make Movie Debut

When it comes to Iqra Aziz there is something very unique and engaging about this young talented actress who this year has given wonderful performances in dramas like Khamoshi, Tabeer and the immensely popular Suno Chanda. Paired opposite Farhan Saeed, Iqra and the singer turned actor made the Ramzan comedy a project to remember.

With many hit dramas under her belt and a fan following which is on the rise, it was in a recent interview with Gulf Times where she revealed how she was open to sign a film and looked forward to making her movie debut soon!

We for one know for sure that she will do wonders there too. However, at the end of the day it's all about the script and if that's a solid one only then an actor can perform to their full potential. Iqra said the same, while she is currently going through many stories to decide which one to sign and which one to reject

“I’m looking forward to an extremely well written script. Story does matter, but all of it goes in vain if the script is not written to detail. I want something that can give me goose bumps just by reading it; so, let’s see," said Iqra.

Talking about the revival of Pakistani film industry, she shared that she believes it is in fact team work that drives the industry in raising the bar for quality and content.

“It’s not only dependent on the actor. It’s team work. From a DOP (Director of Production) to director and even the light guy – the work is interdependent, and the beauty comes out on screen when it’s all perfectly synchronised," explained the actress.

Adding further she said, "We can only produce a film of international appeal when we have a team working closely with each other, employing professional skills and expertise. It’s a team work that’s going to ultimately contribute to revolutionise the Pakistan film industry. It’s not a one man show.”

We agree to every single word of hers and honestly we can't wait to hear which movie she picks as her debut. Meanwhile she is also busy shooting for a new drama with her Tabeer co-star Imran Ashraf which also has us pretty excited as she is an actress who completely looses herself in each character making us forget that the person she is portraying is fictional and not real.

So with a bright future ahead we look forward to seeing Iqra spread her magic on the silver screen soon!

3 Bahadur Part 3 All Set to Release this December!

Looks like Pakistan's animation industry is on a roll right now. After the release of Allahyar and Legend of Markhor, Tick Tock earlier this year and upcoming The Donkey King, the news here is that the sequel of Pakistan's first local animated movie 3 Bahadur, 3 Bahadur, The Rise of the Warriors is all set to release.

We reached out to the woman behind the super hit franchise Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and here's what she had to say.

"The third installment is in post production phase right now and this time we have added two new characters Erma and Babushka in the srory."

Sharmeen also shared that the voice behind Erma is of super talented Mehwish Hayat whereas versatile artist Nimrah Bucha has lend voice to Babushka.

In addition to Mehwish and Nimrah, the loaded cast of the film will have Sarwat Gillani, Fahad Mustafa, Behroze Sabzwari, Khalid Malik and Faheem Khan. Now that's what you call star-studded!

After watching the promising teaser, it's pretty safe to say that the film will be even more entertaining than its prequels.

All set to release this December, under the banner of ARY Films,