KARACHI: The two Urdu films — Love Guru directed by Nadeem Baig and Deemak with Rafay Rashid in the director’s seat — released on Eidul Azha managed to attract large crowds at Karachi’s multiplexes in the short holiday season.

There were long queues before their release date, especially for Love Guru, as a result of which the phrase ‘full house’ was heard after a long, long time — which must be acknowledged. Although it needs to be corroborated on an official level, reports suggest that both projects raked in Rs140 million in the first few days, collectively and countrywide.

On Tuesday, Humayun Saeed, who plays the male lead in Love Guru, on social media claimed that his film’s weekend collection, internationally, was Rs282m. The figures and the way cine-goers have rushed to watch these movies have filled the showbiz community of Pakistan with renewed optimism.

Talking to Dawn, film exhibitor and entrepreneur Nadeem Mandviwalla said, “There comes a spell in summer in which things begin to look up. There was a 100 per cent high before Eidul Azha. Final Destination: Bloodlines did exceedingly well at the box office. It was followed by Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, which also did well. [The two Hollywood projects are still in theatres.] So there was already an upward trend before Eidul Azha. Then Love Guru and Deemak came out.”

Mandviwalla says both films collectively made over Rs130m in first few days

He said the local films are not an outright reject like those released on Eidul Fitr. “You’ll find opinions on these movies, but the fact is they have done good. Deemak made more than three crore rupees at the box office and Love Guru more than 10 crore rupees [in the first few days]. The trend will continue till Sunday [June 15].”

But Pakistani films, like movies made in any part of the world, have their fair share of detractors. Their criticism is mainly directed towards the underwhelming production value of desi projects. This time around, criticism has been levelled against the lead pair of actors in Love Guru — Humayun Saeed and Mahira Khan. It hasn’t gone down well with industry insiders. Producer Shehzad Rafiq in a statement has urged lovers of cinema to support Pakistani movies. He has praised the hard work put in by Mr Saeed and Ms Khan to make Love Guru possible.

Mr Mandviwalla said he only agrees with numbers. Still, defending Mr Saeed and Ms Khan, he remarked, “It doesn’t matter what age you are as an actor as long as you’re giving a good movie.”

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2025