LAHORE: Mikaal Zulfiqar, an actor, and model and producer, thinks that the revival of the Pakistan film industry is difficult without institutional and government support.
Talking to Dawn, he highlights that the cinema is changing the world over while in Pakistan, it has always been in a state of decline and it’s stuck in the revival state for years.
“Lack of films is the sole reason behind it. Film is a business decision being a commercial product and not many are ready to take this decision. We lack institutional and government backing because film is not considered an industry.”
Mikaal says that if 10 biggest business groups of Pakistan invest Rs1bn each in the industry with such a major push, films can be produced but convincing a business person to invest in a film is the hardest job perhaps. “It is hard to invest in films for an investor because the investor believes that their money might not be recovered.”
He points out that for the common man in Pakistan, cinema has become a luxury, private and government sectors can offer cinema houses at subsidized rates where ticket price for the man in the street can be affordable such as Rs100 or Rs200. Such ventures are attached with supply of films, which is not there and we all make collective efforts.
The actor stresses that cinema and art have a tremendous power to shed light on narratives and to tell stories.
“Even on digital platforms, we are not streamlined on digital content though there is a huge market. Market for Urdu and other regional languages is there all over the world. We should capitalise on OTT and AI,” he suggests.
Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2025
