YouTube is back in Pakistan after nearly three years. To quote Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale tone -- 3 Saal, 4 Mahinay, 5 Din. Yes, it has been that long and, even though many will not agree, the absence of YouTube is one of the reasons why the Pakistani film industry managed to get back on its feet. Without YouTube, people had all the time in the world to go and watch films in cinema; they weren’t restricted to their homes, buffering videos and watching stuff that was within their grasp, breaking the dependence on TV and DVDs.

The game might change again, now that Netflix has entered the Pakistani borders with its brand of TV shows and countless Hollywood films that might not be available on DVDs. The emergence of high-speed internet will make things easier for a local consumer who can pay for fast internet which is less than the price of a cinema ticket and enjoy movie watching experience in the comfort of their home.

How will that affect a filmmaker who has struggled hard to come up with an idea, a plot and a story to tell, only to lose audience to these distractions which weren’t there in the first place?

Syed Ali Raza Osama, the director of 2013 hit Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, believes nothing has changed. "I don’t think the return of YouTube is bad; everything depends upon the usage of any tool. However, I am a staunch supporter of legal content and I believe that piracy hurts the process of filmmaking more than any external factors."

Writer/Producer Fizza Ali Meerza whose Na Maloom Afraad became the longest running Pakistani film this millennium proudly states that her film is the first and so far the only one to be included in Netflix. "Having Pakistani films on Netflix is surely a plus for local films as it brings monetary value back to the producer and provides them a chance to officially explore the digital rights of the film. As far as the return of YouTube is concerned, we had started to live without it. Now that it is back, we can use it as another medium of marketing -- nothing more."

If Netflix is monetarily beneficial, all producers in Pakistan should contact the website as it is all set to become the next big thing in the entertainment-deprived country. Yes some might try to submit their substandard stuff but Netflix isn’t run by locals who can be influenced; it is meant for those who want quality entertainment, and that’s exactly what it will provide for a meager fee.

Similarly, having YouTube might be a good thing as young filmmakers can use the site as references and come up with new ideas for their projects. There are a lot of vintage Pakistani classics that can only be found on YouTube; it’s alright even if they are poor versions of the VCDs produced in Karachi’s Rainbow Center. Film students can learn a lot about the forgotten Pakistani films and learn the way things were done in the golden era. They don’t have an NTM to educate them about Lollywood classics nor do the current TV channels believe in airing Pakistani content. In such a scenario, YouTube can be very helpful.

Filmmaker Mehnaz Alavi Dewan feels that YouTube is for those who can use it intelligently. "It is known that our film and commercial industry directors heavily depend on references. Even when it was banned, they accessed YouTube through proxies especially since the availability of content is far more than Dailymotion. A lot of training videos are available on YouTube, which our filmmakers benefit from, considering that we don’t have many film schools in the country."

Whatever the impact, -- good or bad -- Pakistan’s film industry is here to stay, Hassan Asghar, Manager Marketing & Operations, IMGC (one of the leading film distributors in the country), is confident of that. "If the film is good, nothing can stop it from becoming a hit. The cinema industry has now become huge because the trend of watching films in theatre has caught on. I am sure nothing will change and the producers and distributors will continue to rise."