June 28, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 27,1424

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PESHAWAR, June 27: Pushto films seem to have lost their fans due to restrictions on their publicity through banners and posters of film stars.

The provincial government a couple of months ago banned the display of pictures and posters of film stars outside cinema houses to curb vulgarity but anti-obscenity drive has minimized attendance in cinemas.

“The number of cinema goers has dropped due to the non- publicity of films. The labourers who come to the provincial capital for manual jobs used to watch Pushto films in cinemas,” said an owner of a local cinema.

“The audience of Pushto films has reduced tremendously because it usually comprises the labour class who can’t even read the names of film stars,” he said.

Pushto films which had a limited circuit of three cities - Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta - was already passing through a difficult phase and anti-obscenity drive of the MMA proved to be the last nail in the  coffin, a manager of a local cinema said.

“The ban on posters of films and film stars has minimized the publicity and as a result Pushto films are not doing good business,” another cinema manager said.

In a cinema with a capacity of 400 seats hardly 50 to 60 seats are filled during a show and cinema owners have to pay 50 per cent tax on the sale of the tickets.

“The Pushto film makers are not taking the risk of making a movie since they are not even sure of the recovery of expenditure on films, leave alone the profit”, a Pushto film producer said.

In 1980s the Pushto film industry was at its prime and Pushto movies were watched even in Afghanistan and Dubai by Pakistani labourers.

“Now the expenditure of a Pushto film amounts to three million rupees and its three shows don’t recover even half of the amount spent as only 10 to 15 people come to watch the show,” the film producer said.

“Name of the film and cast is not enough for publicity. One poster of a film not only informs an illiterate movie fan about the cast but also helps him to understand the mood of the movie,” he said.

The film producers are reluctant to take the risk of releasing films and they wait for the right time of the year to make them hit the cinema screens.

Most of the cinemas where Pushto movies once attracted a huge crowd are turning into deserted buildings. Palwasha and Metro cinemas have already been demolished and other cinemas are about to be shut down.