It is true that India has influenced Pakistan’s rising film industry, but is Bollywood our identifier? It sure seems so! Whether it was Wrong No. or the Na Maloom Afraad franchise, the cinematic experience screams Indian film culture. Print and social media have played a liable role in promoting Bollywood, and it has smeared Pakistani cinema’s ideology. Our award shows have nothing new to offer except the blockbuster Indian soundtrack that is not even our own. It is not that watching Indian films upsets me, the lack of creativity and originality does in many Pakistani films. We had iconic movies that surpassed the caliber of Bollywood in recent times: Bol, Moor, Manto, and the latest Cake are a handful, but these are not our mainstream films. They come out once in two years. As far as comedy goes, we are sadly dependent on India. Novices in the field of media have managed to perk up the essence of Pakistan’s film industry, but the revival of cinema is shifting gears in the wrong direction. I will say that the most constructive film medium in Pakistan are shorts. They have realistic storylines that people can resonate with. However, they are not suitable for an average Pakistani, considering that a majority of them give precedence to lousy films that are tailored to their needs. We have experimented with almost everything that is not our invention. There is a clear difference between accepting our unique set of values and emulating someone else’s As long as there is poor action, sloppy camera work, and a ludicrous storyline, we will surrender. The bottom line is, for Pakistanis, films have to be entertaining regardless of their plot and quality of storytelling. So much so, for comedy and romance genres, there needs to be some creativity in the mix. Our perception of movies in today’s day and age is illogical. It is not our fault too. Many Pakistanis have grown up on Bollywood films especially at a time when Lollywood was dormant. Maybe this reason alone has led us to think that we are a part of Bollywood. Let’s keep films on the side for a minute. Indian advertisements were replicated by our not-so-innovative production houses in the past. Our commercials were often signed by prominent Bollywood actors, to promote local Pakistani brands, until we realized that it was not so nationalistic of us. Does this imply that we lack good actors to market the labels? Not so long ago, Indian soap operas were widely aired on our channels for TRPs. It was definitely a step in the wrong direction. Speaking of’item number’ songs, is that our idea too? I guess not. We have experimented with almost everything that is not our invention. There is a clear difference between accepting our unique set of values and emulating someone else’s. I strongly believe that we should find our own identity and voice, as Pakistan. Following others’ lead should not be an option anymore. As a growing fashion and entertainment industry, we can do so much better than India in terms of creating masterpieces from scratch. The element of music and theatrics should remain intact in our films and dramas; however, reproducing ideas of an entirely different industry is unacceptable. If India continues to influence Pakistan in such a manner, it is a matter worth laughing about. Published in Daily Times, May 31th 2018.