Eid holidays are over now and reports of film business from various sources are publishing in papers. In Pakistan traditionally there is no concrete mechanism to know the exact earning of a film. In traditional single screen cinemas, tickets are issued manually so it is near impossible to estimate the total business generated form a film in such cinema. However with the arrival of multiplexes which maintain the records of tickets sold, now a near estimate of the film total business is easily established. Usually the owner of these multiplexes issue the business generated by a film in their chain of multiplexes, which sums up the total business of the film. This method is not fool proof. Surprisingly for some unknown reason film producers in Pakistan seldom release any statement about the total revenue their film.

This Eid many films were released including Hollywood, Bollywood, Urdu, Punjabi and Pashto.

Hollywood: Minion and Antman
Bollywood: Bajrangi Bhaijan
Urdu: Bin Roye, Wrong Number, Bazaar (Only released in Punjab)
Punjabi: Razia Ghundon Mein Phans Gayi, Gunahgaar (All punjabi films released only in Punjab)
Pashto: Ma Cherra Ghareeb Sara, Daagh, I love you too, Pakhtun Pah Dubai Ke, Khanadaani Badmaah, Maien Kho Lewanai Vee and Sar Tair Badmaash (Released in Karachi, Quetta and KPK)

Various papers (English and Urdu) have published the reports on films business. As per these reports three main films Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Wrong Number and Bin Roye are running full house in all major cities during the Eid Holidays as well on this weekend.

Like always leading the way is the Bollywood film Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Bollywood films have always been the preferred choice of majority of the Pakistani cine goers in any circumstances, a fact proven once again on this Eid. Bollywood films always receive overwhelming reception in Multiplexes (located in posh areas) as well as traditional single screen cinemas (located in old/inner city areas), making them the unanimous choice of all sections of the society. As per press/net reports Bajrangi Bhaijaan is released on a total of 171 (approx.) screens nationwide. In many areas (mostly single screen cinemas) the demand was so high that cinema owners have cancelled the shows of Urdu films Bin Roye and Wrong Number and allotted the same time slot to Bajrangi Bhaijaan. In some multiplexes, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is allocated more shows in the upcoming week replacing the shows of Hollywood’s Antman. The trend is expected to continue on coming weekends until a new Bollywood film is screened to fill the appetite of Bollywood films. Like any other Bollywood film released in Pakistan, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is ahead in the race by a wide margin.

Following Bajrangi Bhaijaan after a big gap, are the two Urdu films Wrong Number and Bin Roye which are on second and third place respectively. Wrong Number is slightly ahead of Bin Roye in terms of number of screens and business. Wrong Number was released on 87 (approx.) screens while Bin Roye is released on 81 (approx.) screens nationwide. In comparison Bajrangi Bhaijaan is released on more screens (171) alone than the combined total (87 + 81 = 168) of the two Urdu films Wrong No. and Bin Roye indicating the massive appeal of the Bollywood films among Pakistani audience.
As per the English Daily The News, Bin Roye is leading in Islamabad, while in Karachi Wrong No. is ahead. An interesting general analysis is that men are loving Wrong Number and hating Bin Roye, women are loving Bin Roye and hating Wrong Number.

The healthy trend on this Eid is that the audience have also endorsed Pakistani Urdu films while supporting Bollywood film. Both the Urdu films Bin Roye and Wrong No, are running full house during the Eid holidays in whatever space and time is allotted to them. As per Nadeem Mandwiwala, the head of Mandwiwala Entertainment the success of Pakistani films is attributed to the aggressive marketing campaign rather than the content of these films.

The Punjabi films have done average business. Four out of the seven Pashto films released are declared hit while rest are doing average business.

Here are the news reports/excerpts which are the basis of this post.

English Daily The News
Box office success for the trilogy of Eid films

Running House Full: Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Bin Roye and Wrong Number have all resonated well with Eid audiences.

Salman Khan has been forgiven his sins. He must have worried how his May conviction and sentencing to 5 years in prison for a 2002 hit-and-run homicide might have dampened the prospects for his movie. But like India’s courts, the country’s movie going audience gave the megastar a stay of appeal, supporting Bajrangi Bhaijaan with the biggest opening weekend ever for Khan and the 3rd biggest in Indian box office history. According to cinema owners in Pakistan, the film has resonated just as well with the Pakistani public, threatening Ant Man with an early exit. The good thing is, local releases Bin Roye and Wrong Number have been running just as successfully as Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

“An extraordinary audience turns up over Eid and all films are running full house,” Film producer, distributor and cinema owner (Atrium in Karachi and Centaurus in Islamabad) Nadim Mandviwalla shared with Instep. “Wrong Number is doing better in Karachi and Islamabad has shown a higher demand for Bin Roye. But this is a result of marketing hype not content. The Eid influence remains 9 days, which we see in advance booking, and we’ll see full effect of all films by Monday.”

An interesting general analysis is that men are loving Wrong Number and hating Bin Roye, women are loving Bin Roye and hating Wrong Number whereas Bajrangi Bhaijaan has shown universal appeal.
– See more at: http://magazine.thenews.com.pk/mag/detail_article.asp?id=11290&magId=11#sthash.EHQpfNei.dpuf

Rashid Nazir Ali

The position of the movies on box office on the end of second week showed that the movies were started in buzz of Eid ul Azha and were expected to do much business as every year Nabeel Qureshi and Humayun Saeed used to do business on same eid but these films altogether could only manage to earn 38 crore on 11th day which is less than Humayun Saeed and Nabeel ‘s production, that clearly shows that on eid two movies are enough to be released and after twenty to thirty days is the good time for another movie to release like Ali Zafar released Teefa in trouble after a month of Eid ul Azha which actually proved his strategy as game changer, he alone collected 50 crore in pakistan but it is fact that Teefa in trouble was outstanding in terms of Screenplay, cinematography, cast, music and acting but still his move of releasing movie late was right.

Here are the two weeks collection of all the three movies.

Superstar
Eid Holidays ( Mon- Thur): 8.20 crore
Eid Weekend ( Fri- Sun): 5 crore
7 Day Extended Eid Weekend: 13.2 crore
Weekdays ( Monday- Thursday): 1.8 crore
11 Day Extended Week 1: 15 crore

Paray hat love

Eid Holidays ( Mon- Thur): 8.4 crore
Eid Weekend ( Fri- Sun): 5 crore
7 Day Extended Eid Weekend: 13.4 crore
Weekdays ( Monday- Thursday): 1.6 crore
11 Day Extended Week 1: 15  crore

Heer maan ja
Eid Holidays ( Mon- Thur): 3.8 crore
Eid Weekend ( Fri- Sun): 1.3 crore
7 Day Extended Eid Weekend: 5.1 crore
Weekdays ( Monday- Thursday): 0.68 crore
11 Day Extended Week 1: 5.78 crore

The past few months have not been great for the Pakistan film industry. Four significant films released in 2017 but failed to do well at the box office. However, Pakistani cinemas have finally managed to get back the masses with latest Hollywood film Fast & Furious 8.

The eight edition of the Fast & Furious franchise, broke all day one records in Pakistan. According to reports, F8 collected a sum of Rs 40 million on the very first day and registered the biggest opening in Pakistani cinema.

Here are the top three highest openings in Pakistani cinemas:

1) Fast and the Furious 8: 4.0 crore
2) Fast and the Furious 7: 2.7 crore
3) Jawani Phir Nahi Aani: 2.2 crore

As we all know that the Film industries, across the world, remained halted due to the severe outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic. The businesses were pretty much bearing huge losses because of pending and unreleased films, likewise, in Pakistan, no movies saw release from 2019 to 2021, Now, life is back to the normal routine and film makers, across the globe, have successfully released movies in cinemas. A lot of international and Pakistani movies also got released on Eid ul fitr 2022.

On Eid day, five Pakistani movies Ghabrana Nahi Ha, Chakkar, Parde Main Rehne Do, Dum Mastam and Tere Bajre Di Raakhi were released. Here are their earnings.

Ghabrana Nahi Hai

Well according to the numbers, Saba Qamar’s Ghabrana Nahi Hai is topping the charts with around 3 crore plus PKR, the first day collection was 95.5 lacs, taking the two days total to approximately 2.5 crores which has now crossed approximated 3 crores, and more until now,however, the exact current numbers haven’t been shared. The earning of the film were less than one crore on day 1 but on day 2 it surpassed one crore with a decline on the third working day.

Dum Mastam

According to the box office details, Dum Mastam’s two days earning is 1.76 crore. It also saw more audience on day two and also surpassed the figure of one crore. On the first day the movie made less than a crore. The current numbers haven’t been shared.

Parde Mein Rehne Do

“Parde Mein Rehne Do”s two-day collections are 1.2 crore PKR, on the first day the movie earned 44 lacs while on the second day it earned 76 lacs PKR.

Chakkar

Chakkar collected 28 lacs Pkr on day one and 54 lacs on day two. It showed a good growth on second day despite having lesser shows.

A part from that public also ranked Ghabrana Nahi Hai as a good movie. Dum Mastam as a better movie. A few fans praised Chakkar and Parde Main Rehne do too. Bajre Di Rakhi remained unnoticed. According to public, an international movie Dr Strange, which has just been released, is expected to destroy many of running Pakistani movies.

In past, day first of the Eid release movies saw great response and they always surpassed one crore pkr or even 2 crores, with the daily revenue of approximately one crore pkr in starting days of release, great example of movies are Na Maloom Afrad, Punjab Nahi Jaungi, Wrong No, Lahore Say Agay Karachi say Lahore. Actor in Law and Na Maloom Afraad earned around 20 crore in total. Punjab Nahi Jaungi made 50 crore. Jawani Phir Nahi ani 2 earned 75 crore. They all were Eid releases.

This Eid three massive big budgeted films were released all the films did a great job as expected because movies around eid manage to get the good gross, like we had seen average movies with good business on Eid ul fitar.

Talking about the movies released on this eid started with a big buzz, and all did good at their first days, paray hat love and superstar managed to collect 1 crore on first two to three days but Heer man ja got a slow start, later on it picked up the speed.

So far Parey Hat love is leading the chart of numbers with 8.5 crore worldwide and the superstar followed by it, has grossed 6 crore worldwide. Heer man ja, on the other hand just released in pakistan and grossed 2 crore so far which is not bad either because film is reportedly having an increased audience after eid also public review on film is good, heer man ja is doing business in punjab and has managing to get viewers.
Superstar’s numbers are decreasing and it is getting down, paray hat love being a great cinematic experience getting much viewers. But these are all marketing games later on a good movie proves to gross higher.

Lets see which movie further lead the charts

Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha are considered lucrative holidays for film releases in Pakistan. The days are so loved by the producers that last year we saw six films released on a single Eid and consequently damaging each other’s business. Eid ul Adha has seen many Humayun Saeed and Fahad Mustafa releases and both always manage to do well. Things have also changed as two films have shown how a good script and good execution can make a film hit despite being no Eid. The two films are Teefa In Trouble and The Legend of Maula Jatt. Teefa did well though it was not released on Eid and The Legend of Maula Jatt has made benchmarks that will not be topped easily. This year also saw two big films releasing on Eid with one having a strong cast as an attraction while the other having a heavyweight journalist behind it.

Box office numbers for both films are out now and Money Back Guarantee has managed to do well despite getting mixed views from the audience. The film managed to gross 10 crores worldwide over the Eid weekend. Here is the breakdown by journalist Ali Zain:

Huey Tum Ajnabi is the debut film for anchor Kamran Shahid and it has some big names attached to the cast. Though the film looked very outdated, through a good number of shows, it managed to gross around 2 crores on the Eid weekend:

The mega-blockbuster The Legend of Maula Jatt is still making money and it has now crossed the figure of 114 crores just at the domestic box office:

The films have done rather well as reviews were not very good. Let’s see how they hold up over the week!

After a long break due to Covid-19, Pakistani cinemas has welcomed some superhit films this Eid featuring some of the talented Pakistani actors. The films which are recently released on the occasion of Eid included London Nahi Jaunga, Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad and Lafangey. The films were surely the star-studded ones which claimed to provide an amazing and different content to the audience. Let’s have a look at how the films released on Eid-ul-Adha performed at the Box Office.

1. London Nahi Jaunga

Humayun Saeed and Mehwish Hayat’s film London Nahi Jaunga has surely topped the charts proving it to be the biggest hit as it earned total to 4.70 crore in two days. The first day total earning was 2.15 crore, while on the second day it earned 2.55 crore.

2. Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad

The much awaited film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad which featuring the superstar Mahira Khan and Fahad Mustafa ranked on second number as it earned total of PKR 3.10 crore. On the first day the film earned PKR 1.40 crore, followed by 1.70 crore on day 2.

3. Lafangey

Film Lafangey which became the talk of the town ever since the censor board banned the film but eventually received a clean chit, is ranked on the third number among the other films as it earned PKR 6 million in two days.

Chhalawa and Wrong No.2 are two Pakistani movies that came out this Eid. People were not anticipating both a lot and many thought that the box office collections will not be very great. However, Eid was an Eid for both these movies and they have done extremely well on the whole holiday.

Wrong No. 2 is a sequel and had Sami Khan and Neelum Muneer as the lead actors. The film has done extremely well and has went n to gross over 11 crores in 5 days. The film is in cinemas still and has gotten an impressive response:

Chhalawa is Wajahat Rauf’s third film and had Mehwish Hayat, Azfar Rehman, Zara Noor Abbas and Asad Siddiqui in lead roles. The film was not getting some very good predictions on the box office and the reviews were not great either but the film has grossed over 11 crores too.

Both films did great on the box office and are still going great!

Aiman Khan and Muneeb Butt make one of the most endeared couples in the industry. They are loved and admired by almost everyone. Aiman Khan has taken a break from acting after her wedding, but she keeps on appearing in different ad campaigns of various brands. We have also seen her getting featured in different brand shoots. Aiman Khan and Muneeb Butt recently shared the news with their fans that they will be starring together in something for which they traveled to Turkey as well and it turned out that they are were working for the ad campaign of Borjan.

The advertisement for Borjan footwear, bags, and accessories is out now and we can see Muneeb Butt and Aiman Khan strolling around on the streets of Turkey promoting the brand. Aiman Khan looked beautiful in the video and Muneeb Butt also looked dapper.

Let’s have a look at the video:

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Shahid Afridi (aka Boom Boom) is a star cricketer of our country very famous among public. A fact also evident from the amount of endorsement he receives every year. Since his debut in 1996, Afridi has been the center of attention, and is perhaps the reason many turn to watch the game.

The popularity of Shahid is not limited to Pakistan, but he is also popular in countries where cricket is followed including South Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India. Perhaps for the same reason an Indian television channel offered Shahid to participate in their dance show named Nach Baliye, which Shahid accepted.

However as per the format of the show, the participant must be accompanied by their spouse which Shahid was not aware of. Upon knowing this Shahid declined the offer to participate in the show, as his spouse has never appeared in the public even in the home country Pakistan. Though Shahid was willing to participate in the show alone for a solo performance, but the organizers are looking for someone willing to participate with his/her spouse. After the refusal of Shahid now the organizers are considering other options. Last year Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik also participated with his spouse Sania Mirza in the same show.

The same news got prominent place in almost every paper.

English Daily The News reported it as follows

Pakistan’s favourite all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, has reportedly refused to feature in the upcoming, seventh season of the acclaimed Indian dance/reality based show, Nach Baliye.

According to reports, Boom Boom was willing

to perform on the show as a ‘solo act’ but just as he was about to sign a lucrative contract he was informed that he would be required to shake his feet on the dance floor with his wife, according to show’s format. That’s when he called it off!

 The 35-year old cricketer gave personal reasons for his decision, explaining to the makers of show that he did not want to see his wife dance on public television. “Biwi ko nahin nachana hai,” were his exact words.

Last year, former Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik was roped in to perform with his wife Sania Mirza on the show and they accepted the offer for entertainment purposes. Nach Baliye is a popular Indian dance-reality based show, which features dance performances, usually by celebrity couples. We wonder what Afridi was thinking when he agreed in the first place. There’s conflicting opinion on the appearance of cricketers on entertainment shows; most times they end up with a foot in the mouth and more often they end up looking like jesters. Case in point: Shoaib Akhtar’s recent appearance on Comedy Nights with Kapil. That said, if Shahid Afridi’s cricket career wanes off after the World Cup then he will have to look into alternate options to stay in the limelight, which we know he loves!

– See more at: http://magazine.thenews.com.pk/mag/arc_detail_article.asp?id=10379#sthash.79lF0qpa.dpuf

Urdu Daily Dunya also reported it

Rashid Nazir Ali

Qandeel Baloch lived a very sensational life indeed. The social media starlet remained in news for her life and then for her death. A Pakistani author Sanam Maher wrote a book based on her life titled “The Sensational Life And Death Of Qandeel Baloch”. The book has now been shortlisted for Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. The prize was started in 2008 and is meant to encourage more authors to show their literary prowess.

Shakti Bhatt Foundation described the book in these words:

This book is a testimony to the short, incandescent and courageous life of this Pakistani social media personality, murdered for the family’s honour by her brother. Through the story of Qandeel’s life and death, Maher shows us what it means to be a woman who defies convention in a patriarchal society.

Sanam Maher is competing with 5 other authors for the prize of 200000 INR along with a trophy. A great achievement for her indeed!

Mariam Ansari is a beautiful and accomplished Pakistani actress and model who recently tied the knot with legendary Moin Khan’s son Owais Khan. Mariam Ansari along with her In-laws was recently spotted in “Good Morning Pakistan”.

Mariam Ansari while talking about the bond she shares with her Mother-in-Law, mentioned that “My mother-in-law is very helpful, she supports me every time, no matter what the circumstance are. Recently, I came back from a shoot and I was paranoid and depressed because of the location and environment at the set. My mother-in-law immediately came to me, encouraged me and said that I’ll go with you on the shoot next time.”

“I’m a little sensitive to talk to random people but she’s the one who always supports me and guide me”, added Mariam Ansari.

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The popularity of Indian Bollywood films among Pakistani viewers is beyond anyones imagination. Regardless of the political situation with neighboring India, Indian Bollywood films always perform well in Pakistan. It clearly shows that Pakistani viewers keep politics separate from arts and entertainment which perhaps also is the right approach.

The business of Bollywood films is flourishing every year. This year in July, Bollywood Bajrangi Bhaijan made the record of highest opening weekend earning for a Bollywood film in Pakistan. However in just six months time the Bollywood enthusiasts have poured in cinemas in even greater numbers to watch Bollywood Dilwale released on 18th December 2015.

As per English daily Express Tribune,Dilwale has earned 6 crore rupees on its opening weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) which is a new record for a Bollywood film on Pakistani box office. With a extended upcoming weekend due to the holidays of 12 Rabiul Awwal and 25th December, Dilwale is expected to continue this trend.
The whole content of ET story is pasted here
With no major Pakistani film seeing a release since the dawn of Jawani Phir Nahi Ani, the local box office seemed to have eased into slumber. But this changed with the arrival of two major Indian productions — Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani.

A head-to-head comparison indicates Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani has raked in only one fourth of what the Rohit Shetty film Dilwale managed to earn. But distributors, who were earlier expecting the competition to be entirely one-sided, feel Deepika Padukone’s film has been able to put up a steady fight against the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer.

Distribution Club executive director Abid Rasheed, whose company imported Bajirao Mastani, said the film has so far earned Rs21 million and that its earnings rose after the opening day. “Positive word-of-mouth helped generate audience interest in the movie. And with holidays coming up in the next few days, you can expect the film to put on an even more improved display at the box office,” said Rasheed.
Prior to the release of both movies, Dilwale was already in the pole position since the advance booking ratio for Dilwale to Bajirao Mastani was 10:1. Rasheed, however, argued that Bajirao Mastani was released on only 70 screens as compared to Dilwale’s 85 plus screens.

Dilwale, whose team left no stone unturned in promoting the film in Pakistan, earned in excess of Rs60 million during its first three days. An official for Eveready Pictures revealed that the collections for the opening two days were Rs21.3 million and Rs23 million respectively.

Although multiplexes contributed the most to Dilwale’s kitty, the film performed impressively at single-screen cinemas as well. Farrukh Rauf, director of Capri Cinema, stated that where Dilwale has recorded full houses, attendance for Bajirao Mastani has been ‘below par’.

While Indian movies usually tend to last only a week at single-screen cinemas, Dilwale’s impressive performance has already convinced Rauf to give it an extended run. “We have the Christmas holidays and a long weekend coming up, so the next week is looking even better for Dilwale,” he added.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/1013936/dilwale-tops-box-office-as-bajirao-lags-behind/

Rashid Nazir Ali

Sunidi Chauhan is a brilliant Bollywood singer who is known for countless hit playback songs. She has been part of the Bollywood music industry for years. Her claim to the fame songs include Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi, Mehboob Mere, Dhoom Machale, Deedar De, Beedi, Soniye, Chor Bazari and many others.

Lately, Indian singer made an appearance in Raj Shamani’s podcast where she generously praised Pakistani music industry and the artists.

Talking about Pakistani music and artists, Sunidi Chauhan said, “You know, I work with a lot of Pakistanis, they are brilliant and why do I call them Pakistanis, I mean we are the same, we speak the same language, we look like each other, our food and culture are similar. When I go to the UK and the US, I meet many Pakistani friends so I would say we are all the same people. Pakistani music became a wave because they do it for the love of it, they really have a big music industry. Their artists are big, they are loved there. They also get love here in India and the reason for that is their love for music. They do music for as a passion like Coke studio is an example. Currently, I’m stunned by a Coke Studio song Turi Jandi by Hassan Raheen & Shazia Mansoor who have sung Chandni Ratain and many other songs, she is a big singer. After watching Turi Jandi, you will be like how did they make it, the way they made the video, it’s unbelievable I was taken aback after watching it with the video, as a song it’s an okay song but the video enhanced it. It is beautiful” Here is the link to the video where she praised Pakistani artists and music:

Sultan is an Indian Bollywood film released in Pakistan on Eidul Fitr on 6th July 2016. Bollywood films are widely viewed in Pakistan especially the one starring any of the Bollywood’s Khan.

Sultan was allotted the maximum number of shows through out Pakistan in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and the federal capital Islamabad. The film is also released in Balochistan (Quetta) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar), where normally Bollywood and locally made Urdu films are not released and only Pashto films are released.

Two Urdu films Blind Love and Swaal 700 Crore Dollar Ka (SSCDK) were announced to be released on Eidul Fitr, however seeing the preference of cinema owners the producers of Blind Love had delayed their film while the other film SSCDK was given very few shows by the cinema owners and thus it paved the way for maximum number of shows given to Bollywood’s Sultan.

As expected the film has earned huge on all the three Eid Days, but its earnings have exceeded all the expectations. The film has crossed the 10 crore mark in just three days the fastest for any film on Pakistani box office. Sultan is distributed by Geo Films. As per Geo News the film is experiencing record turnouts at even small urban centers like Multan as shown in the below video posted by Geo Films.

As part of promotional campaign, Sultan has been covered in every hour news bulletin headlines of Geo News as well

Sultan has collected 10.9cr approx in it’s first three days of release smashing previous Weekend record of Jawani Phir Nahi Ani with distance. Film collected 3.5cr approx on day breaking all time single day record and opening day record and also becoming first film ever to do over 3cr in a single day. Film grew well on day two and touched 4cr mark and broke it’s own single day record and became first film to hit 4cr in single day.

Below is daily business of the film..

Wednesday. – 6th July. 3.5cr
Thursday – 7th July.. 4cr
Friday (revised) – 8th July .. 3.7cr

Total.. 11.2

Film has become first film in the history to cross 10cr over the Weekend i.e. fastest 10cr grosser.

Source: http://www.boxofficedetail.com/view_post.php?value=6927

Rashid Nazir Ali

Pakistani censor board is making a lot of headlines for different reasons for quite some time now. They banned Verna which had no such scene which demanded a ban. Then recently they released Padmaavat which had many issues without a single cut while banned PadMan without even watching. Now, they have banned the upcoming Anushka Sharma starrer horror flick, Pari.

The reason given for the ban includes the usage of Quranic verses as well as Hindu mantars in some magic spells. The reason sounds legit but with Pakistani censor board, one never knows. The film was cleared by Sindh and Punjab but got a ban in Islamabad.

Let’s see how the ban situation furthers!

Bollywood film Happy Bhaag Jaye Gi which was due to release on 19th August 2016 in Pakistan has been delayed as the film has failed to get the censor certificate required for its screening. As per BBC Urdu, Mubashar Hassan the chairman of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) has said that initially the film was watched by six members where three rejected the film and three deemed it fit for screening. Upon not reaching a majority decision the film was presented before the full board of CBFC which comprises of all nine members of CBFC. The full board raised objections on many scenes of the film and in any such case the film is referred to the National Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage.

As per Mobashar Hassan the film has some derogatory remarks about the founding father of Pakistan Quaide Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as well as few objectionable references towards Pakistan.

So now the decision of screening of this film lies with the Federal Ministry of Information. Last month another Bollywood film Dishoom also faced the similar fate.

As per BBC Urdu, Happy Bhaag Jaye Gi is the story of a run away bride of Indian citizenship who runs away at the night of her wedding and hides herself in a truck. The truck crosses the border and comes to Pakistan and thus the bride also arrives accidentally in Pakistan.

Pakistani artists Javed Sheikh and Moomal Sheikh have also worked in this film.

The promotion of the film was in full swing where the distributor IMGC has advertised the release of the film in all the leading Urdu and English daily. However the poster of this film published in the papers has no image of either Moomal Sheikh or Javed Sheikh.

Reference: http://www.bbc.com/urdu/entertainment/2016/08/160818_film_happy_bhaag_jayegi_release_tk

Rashid Nazir Ali

Bollywood films are extremely popular in Pakistan especially the one starring any Khan (Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan) in it. The last released film of any Bollywood’s Khan was Dilwale in December 2015 which earned around 21 crore on Pakistani Box office and became the most successful film of Shahrukh Khan in Pakistan.

Now another Bollywood film FAN starring Shahrukh Khan is released on 15th April 2016. As expected the film stormed the box office on its opening day. Despite a working day on Friday 15th April 2016 the film has earned massive well above 1.75 crore which is the highest opening day for any film in 2016. The previous best was 1.40 crore by an Urdu film Ho Mann Jahan released on 1st January 2016.

Seeing such massive earning on its first day, FAN is expected to make the record of highest opening weekend of 2016 as well. The best opening weekend record of 2016 is also with Ho Mann Jahan which earned around 4.60 crore on its opening weekend.

FAN is pulling masses at multiplexes as well as the old single screen cinemas. The massive success of the film at single screen cinemas has resulted in such record breaking opening.

As per media reports FAN has no songs and no heroine so its huge success can only be credited to the popularity of Shahrukh Khan. His name is enough to pull cine goers in Pakistan towards cinema halls.

Like many other Bollywood films FAN is also distributed by Geo Films/IMGC. To promote the film Geo News has provided priority coverage to FAN in all its news bulletins. Geo News also sent their most senior anchor person Hamid Mir to conduct the interview of Shahrukh Khan which was aired last week.

Like Geo News, its printing division Urdu Daily Jang is also covering FAN with exclusive articles published daily like the one below which is published today.

Source: http://boxofficedetail.com/view_post.php?value=6605

Rashid Nazir Ali

Bollywood film Dishoom which was due to release on 29th July 2016 in Pakistan has not been released yet as it is still not cleared for screening by any censor board of Pakistan. As per the English Daily Dawn censor board has not yet formally announced any decision about the film

The promotion of the film was in full swing where the distributor has advertised the release of the film in all the leading Urdu and English dailies.

As per English Daily Dawn,  the film Dishoom shows the two leads attempting to kidnap an Indian cricketer before an India-Pakistan cricket match.

The delay in the decision from the censor board has resulted in the rumors and it is widely reported in the Indian press that the film is banned. Even the leading artist of the film Varun Junaid Dhawan has tweeted showing his disappointment that the film is banned terming it as a wrong decision.

So the release of the film is uncertain in Pakistan and it might get banned.

Every year around 50 – 60 Bollywood films are released in Pakistan. The screening of the Bollywood films has helped reviving the struggling cinema industry of Pakistan. In order to screen a Bollywood film in Pakistan it has to be imported after getting a No Objection Certificate from federal ministry. Once imported Bollywood films have to get a screening certificate from three censor boards operating in Pakistan. However every year few Bollywood films fail to get the certificate or NOC for various reasons. The most frequent reason is the content deemed as anti-Pakistan or anti-Islam by the censor board, then there are also few films which failed to get the screening certificate due to the content considered too obscene or adult by the censor board.

This year so far two Bollywood films have failed to get the censor certificate or NOC.

In January Bollywood’s Kiya Kool Hain Hum 3, was banned by censor board quoting “It is an out-and-out obscene film that not only shows nudity but also has a lot of vulgar content in its dialogues. The board has officially disallowed the film from public viewing and sent a show-cause notice to the distributor. The problem with this film is that we couldn’t even allow it with an Adult rating, it so vulgar”.

In February Bollywood’s Neerja also failed to get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the federal ministry required to import the film. The decision is said to be linked with the alleged anti-Pakistan content of the film.

Sources:

http://images.dawn.com/news/1175930/is-dishoom-banned-in-pakistan
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1033972/kyaa-kool-hain-hum-3-banned-in-pakistan/

Rashid Nazir Ali

Popularity of Indian Bollwyood’s films in Pakistan is beyond any comparison especially when it is full of star cast. Regardless of the political situation with neighboring India, Indian Bollywood films always perform well in Pakistan.

On Friday, 18th December 2015 two star cast Bollywood films are releasing Dilwale starring Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Bajirao Mastani starring Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra.

As per press reports the advance booking of both the films is quite high especially Dilwale has a clear edge over Bajirao Mastani. Only in once city Karachi even before its release Dilwale has earned 20 lakh (200,000) rupees in advance bookings. Seeing this trend at few places the distributors of Dilwale have increased the ticket prices as well.

The star cast of Dilwale has also appeared in multiple morning shows on different Pakistani television channels to promote the film like on Hum Tv, Hum Sitaray and Dunya Tv.

From past three four years Bollywood films released in the month of December earn huge revenues on Pakistani box office. In 2013 December, Bollywood’s Dhoom 3 earend around 25 crore and became the highest earning film ever on Pakistani box office (The record is later broken by Fast and Furious 7 and Jawani Phir Nahin Aani in 2015). In December 2014, another Bollywood film Piku also earned 23 crore in Pakistan. Seeing past trend these two films are also expected to perform well especially Dilwale.

Source: http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1103234889&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20151217

Rashid Nazir Ali

In Pakistan, currently three film censor boards are functional. To screen a film in civil administrated areas of Punjab and Sindh censor certificate from Punjab Borad of Film Certification (PBFC) and Sindh Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is required respectively. For all the rest of regions i.e. KPK, Balochistan, Federal Capital Islamabad as well as the cantonment areas of Sindh and Punjab censor certificacte from Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is required.

These three censor boards often became a point of debate due to their inconsistence decisions. Majority of the members of the PFBC and SBFC are former artists or cultural activist, whereas the CBFC has a majority of bureaucrats and retired security officials.

The recent example of inconsistent decision making from censor boards is regarding the Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani due to release on Friday 18th December 2015. It is based on the historical events of famous Marhatta ruler Bajirao and his wife Mastani (Mastani is considered as Muslim by few historians). The PBFC has issued the censor certificate without any objection, the SBFC has allowed the screening after cutting a merely 20 second sequence. However the film is stuck in CBFC who have objections on its screening.

Speaking to Express Tribune the chairman of CBFC has explained their twisted logic as follows.

Mobasher Hasan, chairman of the CBFC, told The Express Tribune the reason behind the decision. “Firstly, the film is in Hindi and our ordinance does not allow Hindi films to be screened,” he said. “Secondly, it is a historical drama that is indirectly against Islam and Muslims,” he further added.

Although it was expected that intimate scenes and certain action sequences might prompt such a decision, Hasan clarified this was not the case. “There are intimate scenes in the film but they were not a major concern for the panel,” he noted. While the film was rejected by a panel initially, local distributors have called for a full board review of the film, once again.

With only one day left in its release the film is expected to get a censor certificate from CBFC today after review from the full board. In case the film fails to get a censor certificate from CBFC, it will only be released in the civil administrated areas of Punjab and Sindh. However such inconsistent decision making from the three censor boards always raise questions on the code of censor followed by these boards.

Earlier this year a Pakistani film Swaarangi was banned by CBFC but passed the knives of PBFC and SBFC without any cuts. Similarly a Bollywood film Ragini MMS 2 in 2014 was passed by CBFC and SBFC but was banned by PBFC.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/1010433/bajirao-goes-under-the-knife-in-pakistan/

Rashid Nazir Ali

Bollywood veteran actor Om Puri has passed away, he was found dead at his Mumbai house on Friday morning. He was 66. The reports suggest that the actor succumbed to a major heart attack. Om Puri had played a meaty and memorable role in ‘Actor In Law’ and his sudden demise has left us shocked.

Om Puri had been a part of Bollywood since four decades and has a Life Time Achievement Award to his credit. His death came as a shock to both nations. Many Pakistani celebrities paid their tributes, send condolences to his family and even shared the grief of losing such an artist.

RIP #OmPuri you were definitely a star a legend a beautiful actor

— HUMAIMA MALICK (@HumaimaMalick) January 6, 2017

Can't believe he's gone. #RIP Om Jee.
Thank you so much @MiraPagliNair for the opportunity to share the silver screen with these legends. pic.twitter.com/ifutiP2EI0

— Meesha Shafi (@itsmeeshashafi) January 6, 2017

Rest in peace Om Puri. A true giant of cinema, a hero of mine, and one of the most masterfully talented, humble, and warm souls I ever met. Working with him was an honour. I remember seeing him in classic Bollywood films as well as groundbreaking British cinema like 'My Son the Fanatic' and 'East is East'. He transcended cultural boundaries in a way no one else had at that point, bridging the gap I felt in myself, a consistent presence in both Hindi and English films. I once asked him what film he was proudest of, he told me 'Ardh Satya', where he played an idealistic young cop in a corrupt police force, was one of his first big lead roles and he had a soft spot for it. His charisma shines through from the first frame. In a way Om was like this character, a beacon of warmth in an industry often awash with ego. He was someone who seemed to be doing it for the right reasons, still so humble and cool despite being an icon. He remains an inspiration to so many. Thank you Om-ji, for your incredible gift to us all.

A photo posted by Riz Ahmed / Riz MC (@rizahmed) on Jan 5, 2017 at 11:07pm PST

A fine actor & a courageous human being; Om Puri stood his ground and relentlessly worked for peace & harmony in toughest times #RIPOmPuri

— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) January 6, 2017

The world loses a great artist, truly one of Indian cinema's https://t.co/JKRfpmzp5U In Peace #OmPuri

— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) January 6, 2017

Sad morning…RIP om puri #ompuri #rip #only66 #greatactor #

A photo posted by yasir hussain (@yasir.hussain131) on Jan 5, 2017 at 8:03pm PST

Too soon.?..Terribly sad to lose another legend #OmPuri. May the family be strong.

— Sanam Saeed (@sanammodysaeed) January 6, 2017

RIP #OmPuri sir! You will always be remembered as the promoter of peace and Love between the two countries & for so much more…

— MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) January 6, 2017

#OmPuri a legend to work with & a man with his humble & loving nature won the hearts of people across the border. May his soul RIP

— Fahad Mustafa (@fahadmustafa26) January 6, 2017

Another good man left us today not a very good start to this year …Om sir you will be missed ?

— Fahad Mustafa (@fahadmustafa26) January 6, 2017

Rimsha Butt

Malala Yousufzai, the youngest Nobel Prize Laureate is known all over the world. A little girl from Swat whose quest for the right to education lead her to the rulers for most powerful countries. Malala was shot in Swat by Taliban and shifted to the UK where she got treatment and is now studying. She has raised voice for girl education since then multiple times. So many adventures at such a young age can get the attention of any storyteller in a second. Now, a biopic on the life of Malala Yusufzai is in making in Bollywood and the poster for the film was recently released. The film is called Gul Makai:

Gul Makai is the name Malala used to blog about all that was happening in Swat in those days. The first look poster is intense. Reem Shaikh is playing the role of Malala while Divya Dutta will be playing the role of her mother.

Let’s see how Bollywood portrays the struggles and achievements of Malala Yousufzai!