Daily Times

Ever since the attack in September on a military base in Uri killed 18 Indian soldiers, war is being considered, and not just on borders. The deteriorating ties between Pakistan and India have spilled over into two entertainment industries that are busy fighting a cultural war of their own. In a much-touted retaliation to the restrictions imposed on Pakistani artists and technicians working in Bollywood by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) announced a blanket ban on Indian content on television and radio channels last week.

Since PEMRA had previously shown a similar interest in regulating the airtime being given to foreign entertainment on repeated occasions, it cannot be blamed for endorsing protection legislations for the local industry. However, the fact that the current intervention has called for a complete blocking of Indian content amid such simmering tension says a lot about its myopic and politicised nature. While the Indian association should also have realised the disastrous implications of such a misguided decision, PEMRA has not displayed any better understanding of either arts or artists. Had the two countries not treated their entertainments industries as relatively soft avenues to implement their jingoistic agendas, the cultural exchanges could have helped reduce the simmering tension across borders.

Many advocates of this ban on Indian content also believe that it would help counter the influx of Indian traditions creeping into Pakistan’s culture. Although elaborate Bollywood sagas have long adorned Pakistani households with tales of love, no notable influence has yet eroded the local culture and values. Thus, prohibiting the masses from watching the content they wish to see does not hold much ground. Closing doors on Bollywood films in Pakistani cinemas in addition to shutting down Indian dramas and songs would cause significant damage to local economies and not only obstruct the cultural percolation across boundaries.

If the consideration was actually of a ‘cultural invasion’ via foreign content, PEMRA would have long acted against both Hollywood films and Turkish dramas that continue to be screened in cinemas and television channels respectively. After all, content from the Western societies would also be propagating values that do not comply with the local norms as Indian serials are accused of. The absence of any such reform, therefore, validates the growing belligerence by the watchdogs that largely wish to strike in a manner similar to if not severer than their neighbours.

The monitoring authority should, thus, re-evaluate the merit of this move that would probably achieve nothing more than stripping a large number of viewership of one of the very few forms of entertainment that they can either afford or are allowed. PEMRA should have included input from viewers among other stakeholders to better assess the consequences of its reforms. It would have been more understandable if PEMRA allowed a decreased airtime for Indian content in order to facilitate the local industry and boost its productions. The present state of affairs, however, would only help the piracy industry flourish while viewers in Pakistan and India at large suffer from a violation of their rights in the name of nationalism. It is hoped that both cinema associations and television authorities in the two countries reconsider their restrictions soon and stop endorsing moves that put arts on the chopping block. *