Daily Times

Passing through the empty chairs at one of the famous cinemas of Peshawar, Arshad cinema, viewers of the new Pashto film Badnam (2017) of legendry actor Arbaz Khan did not amount to more than two dozen as the shadow of the bomb blast still lurks over the cinema industry of Peshawar. With most of the Pashto films now highlighting scenes of violence as well as anti-cultural elements, families ignore to watch such movies; there was no single female viewer or family inside the hall, but instead were aged and young viewers enjoying their cold drinks while some smoked hashish without any fear of screaming on romantic dialogues that would appear through the movie. My mind was stuck in history as it recalled memories of various folk Pashto films directed and scripted by the talented faces of the province. There was a time when viewers from across the border traveled to Peshawar to watch the classic dialogues of Badar Munir counted in the pioneers of the Pashto film industry. Since he is no more with us and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa film industry suffered a huge loss after his death, it further awaits a dark future due to various hurdles and difficulties.

The Pashto cinema industry started its golden era in 1970 when the first film Yousaf Khan Ao Sherbano (a love story of Pashto folklore) appeared on the cinema screen of Peshawar in the December of that year. This folk film ran on the big screen for 12 weeks straight and earned itself good popularity in the history of the cinema industry of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Badar Munir, the legend of Pashto films got his fame from this historical film. In the following couple of years, Pashto cinema industry produced variety of films such as Orbal, Bahram Khana, Darra Khyber, Bangre and many more. Pashto music legend Khyal Muhammad, Mahjabeen Qazalbash, Mashooq Sultan and Rafiq Shinwari gave their melodic voices to Pashto films. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa film industry saw different ups and downs in its journey. At a time when Pashto cinema was on its peak, people from Afghanistan, the Tribal areas, Malakand district and Baluchistan visited Peshawar to watch new movies in the area. But the Zia regime and after that, the prolonged War on Terror broke the fabric of the Pashto cinema industry which is still facing the crises.

Sher Alam Shinwari, a writer and historian narrates the same story. There were more than 16 cinemas in Peshawar and the surrounding areas but now it is limited to seven. The Zia regime, the MMA government from 2002-08 and the continued militancy hit the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa film industry very badly. More than half-dozen cinemas turned to shopping plazas and the remaining were rendered non-functional due to threats; others will soon be demolished or turned into departmental stores or something else. Falak Sher, Novelty, Palwasha, Metro and Aman cinemas are now the past of film industry.

Nishtar Hall, the only cultural center of the province was closed for all sorts of activities; billboards and advertisements highlighting female models were put under strict ban by the MMA government that came into power in 2002. The growing behavior of extremism, and later the attack on cinemas was the last nail in the coffin of the Pashto film industry.

In the first decade of the 21st century, Pashto cinema faced enormous problems; hundreds of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) attacked the Firdous cinema, set the building on fire and injured staff members after an education conference in the city. In 2006, and then in 2012, cinemas were attacked by an aggressive mob after the Anti-Islam movies in USA and Europe. In 2014, from February 2nd to 11th, Shama cinema and Picture House cinema were attacked by militants in which more than 20 viewers lost their lives while 54 were injured. The film industry badly suffered because of the 2014 attacks by militants, and viewers quit watching movies in cinemas due to threats of attacks. After protests of the religious voices and pressure on the owners of the cinema, the name of Firdous cinema was changed. These voices demanded that its name be linked to ‘Paradise,’ a holy name that will never be the name of a cinema.

‘Famous politicians and business tycoons hoard money in millions but don’t support the film industry. There is no censor board in the province and no funds from the government. How the film industry will move forward, is impossible. The city has only seven cinemas which will be a part of history very soon and there will be no signs of Pashto films in the near future’

Zartash khan, a manager working in a local cinema of Peshawar said that the Pashto film industry is no more valuable in Peshawar; people were thirsty for the release of a Shahid Khan and Arbaz Khan film; however, viewers are not interested in watching movies anymore. With the occurring bomb blasts and violent mob attacks on cinemas last year, people have lost touch with cinema. In the past almost every one wished to run a cinema, but now the owners are demolishing these cinemas and shifting them to commercial buildings as people advise them that doing so will safeguard them from sin. There were 60 cinemas in the whole of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but now it’s limited to 24. In Peshawar there were 16 cinemas but now there remain only seven, this shows the direction the Pashto cinema industry is headed in.

Anjum Khan, one of the viewers said that people suffered from a lot of psychological distress after Peshawar was badly hit by the militancy and the only entertainment for the city’s people is to watch films but now these cinema places are also bombed. There is no secure and safe place in the city to relax anymore.

Amandar khan, an amateur of Pashto films narrated the ups and downs of the Pashto film industry. I was a kid at the time we used to visit the cinema in the evenings on a daily basis, only for five rupees. People from both sides of the Durand line came to Peshawar to watch Badar Munir and Asif Khan’s movies. There used to be no single empty chair inside the hall and most of the people used to stand inside watching a movie for three hours. But the city has passed through various blood baths and there is no more romance for movies anymore. Most of the film writers have no educational background and neither do the directors and producers know about the cultural borderlines of the Pashtunwali. They follow no code of ethics in cinema as they highlight anti-Pashtun scenes in movies, and this is why no respected person wants to watch these films along with family.

Shahid Khan, an owner and actor of Pashto films commented on the hopeless future of the film industry in the wake of terrorism. He said, cinemas were first attacked by extremists after the anti-Islam movies and militant activities. The film industry faced enormous problems but we struggled to screen more movies without the government’s support. We are still struggling a lot to restore the film culture in Peshawar but without proper support, it’s not possible. Khan emphasised on how he demanded land from the government in order to build a Cinemax but there were no serious efforts shown from their side to final it.

In Awami National Party’s (ANP) tenure from 2008-12, they were to pass a cultural policy Bill in the Assembly when they came into power but failed due to various hurdles. After the 18th Amendment to the 1973 constitution, the province had power to make a censor board in the region but the Khyber Pakhtunwa government still had no success in aiding its establishment. With other provinces having their own censor boards, most of the critics and writers pointed out to the absence of a censor board as the main reason behind the anti-cultural and violent scenes in Pashto movies limiting viewers of these films in the city.

Sher Alam Shinwari further shed light on the fact that there are laws for movies which counter these scenes, but due to lack of awareness and education amongst the masses, people don’t know how to translate these laws into movie making. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that came into power through the 2013 general elections in KP Province have now decided to pass a cultural policy Bill in the near days. But according to Shinwari, the implementation is a deep issue especially in the province and practically the entire country. A censor board, however, is the need of the time in order to restore the standard of Pashto films. There are federal laws as well as laws in PEMRA for films, but the question is, who will implement these laws after all?

An anonymous actor from Peshawar said, the federal censor board doesn’t know about the cultural sensitivity of the Pashtunwali. Thus it fails to identify the issues inside the movies. If we were to establish a censor board in the province, we will be able to produce good films with proper viewer participation of families as well as women.

In recent years, Badar Munir, Asif Khan and other old heroes were replaced by new faces like Arbaz Khan and Jehangir Khan. Unaired movies like Badnam (2017) and Badmashi Na Manam (2016) were screened as well, but due to violent scenes and anti-cultural elements in these films, they did not attract viewership. This is why the industry is in crises.

Shahid Khan narrated, the same people who always criticise our films are the ones who don’t dare to produce a film which is according to the likes of the Pashtunwali. Famous politicians and business tycoons hoard money in millions but don’t support the film industry. There is no censor board in the province and no funds from the government and how the film industry will move forward, is impossible. The city has only seven cinemas which will be a part of history very soon and there will be no signs of Pashto films in the near future.

The writer is a freelance journalist working in FATA, KP and Balochistan

Published in Daily Times, December 26^th 2017.