One would imagine that the bigger our entertainment industry becomes, the better it will be. Obviously, more talent coming in means more prosperity and more work, and currently, we are doing some incredible things.
Mahira Khan’s finale performance feat. Sheheryar Munawar at Lux Style Awards (2016) was entertaining and festive but because it started so late, most of the people in the audience had left, leaving the stars performing to a mostly empty hall.
culturevulture
Since Pakistan’s entertainment industry is flourishing rapidly, here
are some lessons the industry needs to learn right now.
One would imagine that the bigger our entertainment industry becomes, the better it will be. Obviously, more talent coming in means more prosperity and more work, and currently, we are doing some incredible things.
The number of films releasing annually is increasing; we have new talent coming in, in the form of actors, singers and fashion designers. We recently saw the Pakistan Film Festival take place in New York, which means that our films are being showcased all over the world in other cinemas and film festivals.
However, at this point it’s equally important to identify the problems that are also creeping in along with all the good that’s coming our way and it’s best to learn these things in our ‘teething stage’, as many industry professionals like to call it, before we proceed any further.
Punctuality
If you’re related to the industry in any way – whether you’re an actor, model, journalist, publicist, or a relative of someone who works in the company that sponsored the award show, you must have endured the long waiting at award shows that go on till 5 am in the morning. Or you must have attended a film premiere that started two hours later than the designated time. Sadly, amid many other reasons, the biggest reason for these shows/events starting so late is because the big stars like to make an appearance.
Whether it’s Iman Ali, who turned up very late to the Mah-e-Mir press conference, even though she was sitting in the hotel waiting in another room, or Mahira Khan, who wouldn’t come down to the hall on time for the Lux Style Awards nominations announcement this year, it’s clear that our stars have a tardiness problem. How about the time Om Puri was the only person at Actor in Law’s premiere and had to apologize for Mehwish Hayat and Fahad Mustafa’s absence?
A growing and mature industry cannot indulge in such childish vanities. Being late once or twice is different matter - Karachi’s traffic makes punctuality quite a difficult task to achieve. But award shows and other events have to start and end on time. We can’t stress enough the importance of punctuality because the alternative followed across the board reflects badly on us as an industry.
Saba Qamar’s dancing in a brothel in ‘Kalabaz Dil’ didn’t come off as the most original concept; we saw Madhuri Dixit do it much more gracefully in the song ‘Ghagra’ from the superhit film, Yeh Jawani Hai Dewani, many moons ago.
Originality
It seems that originality is something we are truly struggling with. If you watch a slew of Pakistani films, you’ll find thoughts, dialogues and dances moves that are way too similar to things that we have already seen before. Saba Qamar dancing in a brothel in ‘Kalabaz Dil’? We already saw Madhuri Dixit do it much more gracefully in ‘Ghagra’ in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
The same can be said about music as well. We find big mainstream musicians performing entire concerts singing cover songs. Please stop paying homage to Nazia Hasan and create something that the youth of tomorrow can pay tribute to.
Forget all this; just take a look at Sahir Lodhi’s upcoming cinematic venture, Raasta. This is a whole new level of imitation. Lodhi’s talks, walks and dances like SRK. This madness has to stop. We need our own ideas.
Vasay Chaudhry said something very important recently at the script and storytelling session at the FocusPK conference. Our industry needs to invest their resources in the writers, the ones responsible for coming up with ideas. Sadly, they’re the ones who are most neglected, underpaid and underappreciated, whether it’s for film or for music. No matter how much money you spend on making the stars and singers look good, the public will not appreciate them if the films or songs seem like they are being copied or borrowed.
Branding
Dear corporate sponsors, thank you for all your contribution towards cinema, as well as music. If it weren’t for brands like Coke, McDonald’s and Bank Alfalah, we wouldn’t be seeing this much work coming out of our industry. But brands now need to start integrating their products more responsibly. Let us give you a great point of reference, not too far from home. Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara flawlessly marketed a Hermes bag throughout the film without zooming in to the logo of the brand in a senseless shot, the way Mehreen Jabbar’s Dobara Phir Se did when it showed an extreme close up of Closeup toothpaste lying awkwardly in a packed suitcase.
However, in the same film, it seemed extremely natural when Sanam Saeed ordered McDonald’s during her wedding festivities. There were no awkward zoom in shots or promotional banter.
Filmmakers and sponsors need to start making their branding seamless. It defeats the purpose if the audience suddenly shouts ‘product placement’ at the sight of your product. They need to see it subconsciously for your marketing to work.
2017 seems to be a promising year but we really hope that our industry professionals can steer clear of these few basic things and move forward as an industry that is both professional and inventive.
