THE entertainment-deprived people of Karachi got a breath of fresh air when a 3D cinema opened in the heart of the city not too long ago. It is interesting to note how the opening of just one cinema brought smiles to many people’s faces when the closure of many in recent years couldn’t bring sorrow.

There was a time when Karachi was the centre of film production. Actors such as Waheed Murad, Kamal and Nadeem were based in the city as was Mohammad Ali in the initial parts of his career because Karachi offered them a chance to film in picturesque gardens, around gigantic buildings as well as on the wide roads. Pakistan’s first feature film to complete platinum jubilee, Armaan, was a Karachi production, as was Aaina, the most successful Pakistani film ever.

There was an abundance of cinema houses as well where local films used to compete with those from India. Indian movies were banned in Pakistan after the 1965 war and that eliminated the chance of competition for the local film industry. Instead, Karachi and Lahore became competitors and cinegoers were dealt a big blow with this development.

The studios of Karachi ended in ruin because producers moved to Lahore to benefit from the facilities in that city. The trend of filming abroad also played its part in damaging the local industry which reached rock bottom in the 1980s. People preferred theatre over the local films — most of them in Punjabi with Sultan Rahi in the lead role — and the Karachi film industry eventually became extinct.

While Lollywood had Punjabi cinema to fall back on, the Karachi industry didn’t have such a prop. Hence during the ’80s and ’90s, the Karachi industry suffered a lot. Also, the then military government and later militants and extremists played their part in demoralising producers by imposing restrictions (government) or making threats (militants) to those involved in the business. Good television plays did the rest of the damage and all Karachi produced during the ’90s was a handful of Umar Sharif and Moin Akhtar flicks, along with some duds that have since been forgotten.

Similarly, the opening of video shops and later DVD shops put the final nail in the coffin of the Pakistan film industry in general and the Karachi one in particular. Not only were people more interested in watching movies at home, they decided to bid adieu to the local cinemas where the first part of The Fast and the Furious was playing, whereas the world was watching the third part!It was only recently with the arrival of multiplexes as well as renovation of old cinemas that families decided to return to the big screen after a long time. No one would have thought that cinemas in the city would show animated as well as latest Englishmovies, that too in 3D, but that’s how it is, thankfully.

Quality local productions like Khuda Kay Liye and Bol have also played their part in reviving the cinema industry, and one hopes that Karachi regains its lost glory to become the hub of quality entertainment.—OA