KARACHI: It is definitely a good omen that the Pakistan film industry is back on its feet, if it was not already. This Eidul Azha — and it has happened after a long, long time — movie buffs will be going to multiplexes and single screens to watch Pakistani films. Yes, there are one or two big-budget Bollywood and Hollywood films on view, but the three new Eid releases that cinephiles are impatiently waiting for are all indigenously made, as it were, Pakistani Urdu movies. They are Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai, Janaan and Actor-in-Law.

The films had their premiers in Karachi one after the other on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and if the media buzz is anything to go by, all of them have largely had positive feedback. It would be fair, though, to say that it’s Actor-in-Law which has garnered more pre-release attention primarily because the critically acclaimed Indian actor Om Puri is playing an important part in it, and also because its director Nabeel Qureshi’s previous offering Na Maloom Afraad was a successful effort, earning him accolades both from the critics and audiences alike.

Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai is helmed by Anjum Shahzad whose first film Mah-i-Mir elicited a mixed response, whereas Janaan directed by Azfar Jafri appears to be the underdog in the race. Unlike Actor-in-Law, which has Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat and Om Puri, the other two movies have a comparatively new set of actors. Janaan features Armeena Khan, Bilal Ashraf and Ali Rehman, and Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai stars Sajal Ali and Feroze Khan.

A couple of months back on Eidul Fitr, Pakistani films had to contend with a major Indian film Sultan starring Salman Khan. It was expected to do good business, and it performed beyond that. It did exceedingly well at the Pakistani box office.

On Eidul Azha, however, there aren’t any significant Bollywood or Hollywood releases. The only Bollywood movie already in cinema halls is Baar Baar Dekho. It has already been butchered by critics and has not earned profit for its makers. This means that business on Eidul Azha would not be divided and Pakistani films have a good chance to rake in undivided money. That being said, it also puts a great deal of pressure on our producers and directors to come up with quality material so that Pakistan’s film business (and art) comes out of its ‘revival’ mode and proves to be an established industry.

Published in Dawn September 13th, 2016