All big names in the film industry graced the occasion and it was after a long time that almost all actors, producers, directors and people from the technical side were present under one roof for the revival of cinema in Pakistan. However, film director Sangeeta and a few others did not turn up at the function because of their ideological differences with UFAP.
On this occasion, Adviser to Prime Minister on Education Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali administered oath to association office-bearers producer Mian Amjad Farzind as UFAP chairman, Mustafa Qureshi as senior vice-chairman and director Aslam Dar as vice-chairman. Film distributor Mian Rashid took the oath as UFAP vice-chairman for Sindh and actor Asif Khan as vice-chairman for NWFP.
Film director Syed Noor, actress Bahar, director Altaf Hussain, actor Shan, film writer Nasir Adeeb, writer and producer Pervaiz Kaleem and musician Zulfiqar Ali were named members of the UFAP executive committee.
A sub-body entitled United Film Production was also launched on this occasion, with actor Ghulam Muhayyuddin as its chairman, producer Jamshed Zafar as senior vice-chairman and Shan as vice-chairman.
Farzind announced on this occasion that United Film Production would announce 10 new films this year to support the crumbling film industry.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who was also invited to the ceremony, said he was unhappy at the fact that the provincial government did not waive the entertainment tax on cinemas despite repeated requests by the film industry. He said the government would waive the entertainment tax in a couple of days through a notification.
Mustafa Qureshi, who is also film industry's representative to the government, listed the causes of decline of the film industry and said the launch of UFAP was a turning point for the industry. He said a group of people in the industry produced vulgar films and tarnished the industry's image. He said there was a time when the country used to have more than 800 cinemas compared to the existing 200 cinemas.
He said there was no policy on screening of Indian films in Pakistan. He said the film industry supported the screening of Indian films only for the survival of Pakistani cinema. He asked the Punjab government to initiate dialogue with East Punjab, which had a big market for Pakistani Punjabi films.
Ghulam Muhayyudin, Nasir Adeeb, Reema Khan, Javed Sheikh and Nadeem also spoke. Madeeha Shah, Irfan Khoosat, Farooq Zameer, Amjad Islam Amjad, Humera Channa, Tafu, Usman Pirzada, Tanvir Fatima, Saira Naseem, Jawad Ahmed and Ibrar-ul-Haq were also present.
