KARACHI, Nov 6: The variety is insufficient and the quality, questionable. This Eidul Azha the films that are going to be released today (Nov 7) are not as diverse a bunch as cine-goers would like to see.

Whatever the distributors have been able to push for screening in cinema houses and multiplexes ranges from a Punjabi movie (which was released in the Punjab sector on Eidul Fitr) to a Bollywood comedy starring one of their tried and tested actors, to a 3-D Hollywood animation venture which children might immediately warm up to.

‘Puss in Boots’, directed by Chris Miller, can be seen at a known mall’s cineplex. Those who run the mall are optimistic about its fate. It’s the only 3-D film this Eid. The movie has a cat as its protagonist who with the help of his companions Kitty Softpaws and Humpty Dumpty goes for an adventure to save his city. Big Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris have lent their voices to the main characters of ‘Puss in Boots’, which means it’s not just meant for the bacha party, adults can also enjoy the action.

The other release that multiplexes seem to be hopeful about is a Bollywood film titled ‘Loot’. It stars the age-defying Govinda with the erstwhile comic Javed Jaffery and the man with the never-say-die attitude Sunil Shetty. ‘Loot’, directed by Rajnish Raj Thakur, is a perceived rib-tickler. Keeping in mind that an Indian film ‘Bodyguard’ (starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor) broke all kinds of box-office records on Eidul Fitr, ‘Loot’ has a pretty daunting act to follow.

‘Son of Pakistan’ helmed by Jarrar Rizvi was supposed to be the only Urdu film of the Eidul Azha pack. Not to be. The film is yet to see the light of day. Cinema owners waited till the last day for the distributors to confirm whether they’re letting it go for viewing or not. Its release date is still not confirmed. The film, by the way, has Babar Ali, Meera, Shamil Khan, Laila, Babrik Shah, Ghulam Mohyeddin, Shafqat Cheema and Laila Zuberi in the cast. ‘Son of Pakistan’s story pivots around Shamil Khan’s character who plays the part of a good policeman.

A Punjabi film ‘Daney Pe Dana’ was also an expected release. Instead Jugni, written and directed by Syed Noor, has been given the go-ahead. This film (starring Arif Lohar, Moammar Rana, Shaan and Saima) was screened in Punjab on Eidul Fitr. Sources say when Syed Noor finds it difficult to sell all the prints of his movies in Punjab, he sends them to Karachi.

However, an Indian film which hit the cinema screens before Eidul Azha, ‘Ra.One’, in which Shahrukh Khan plays the part of a super hero, has done, and to date doing, a roaring business. Cinema owners are pretty pleased with the movie’s box office collections and there’s a view that it’s quite unlikely that any other film could match up with ‘Ra.One’ in terms of business.

Apart from the above-mentioned Eid flicks, a couple of Pushto films have also been released in Karachi cinemas.