PESHAWAR, Sept 7: Pushto film-makers have expressed concern over lack of incentives from the government, and asked it to exempt cinema-houses from taxes and excise duty.
"We have removed obscenity from films in accordance with a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government directive. But the government is also required to extend us facilities. The Punjab government has done away with entertainment tax and excise duty, which has helped the cinema-houses there a great deal," local film-maker Malik Shahnawaz Khan told reporters here on Tuesday.
Flanked by other film-makers, he said Pushto movies, often blamed for promoting vulgarity, have undergone a sea-change. "Now, films are being made on love stories and other social subjects. But, we have lost a large number of cinegoers by stopping obscene scenes," he claimed.
Malik Shahnawaz, who has recently released Meena Lewantob De and plans Laas Da Bari Kaar De for Eidul Fitr, said it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to remain in the trade because of the booming satellite channel business in the country.
He said although the cinema trade had been adversely affected by the government's ban on pictures of women on signboards, yet, he added, they would continue to co-operate with the government in its endeavour to end vulgarity from Pushto films.
He said film-makers needed official support and urged the government to declare the film trade an industry so that new investors with novel ideas were encouraged to come in to provide better entertainment to people.
