Culture

Pakistan May Lift Bollywood Ban

by Jarrett Martineau | January 29, 2008 at 09:55 am

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UK film box office: £800 million, 500 films from 33 countries with India at 3rd place

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I had no idea, until this morning, that Bollywood movies were banned from being screened in Pakistan. Having only allowed three Indian films to be shown in Pakistan, back in 2006, today's announcement proposes that the ban be lifted.

Officially Indian films are banned in Pakistan, a prohibition dating back to the 1965 war between the two countries. [...]

Now a parliamentary committee on culture has recommended to the government that the ban on Indian films should be removed.

The ban would be lifted for one year and would operate on an equal import/export basis agreement between Pakistan and India:

Though details are unclear, reports suggest that the import of a dozen Indian films will be allowed against the export of an equal number of Pakistani films to India.

It is not clear also whether the Indian government would agree to such a proposal.

In 2006, Pakistan's cultural ministry agreed to screen three Bollywood films in the country.

The films were Moghal-e-Azam, the 1960 classic starring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala; Taj Mahal, a 2005 film, starring Pakistani actress Sonia Jehan; and the 1984 film Sohni Mahiwal.

It should be noted that although Indian films are not able to be seen
in Pakistani cinemas they are still "hugely popular" and, with endemic
media piracy in the region, "illicit copies are easy to find." But Bollywood cinema, in all of its sweeping grandeur, deserves to be seen on the big screen - and Pakistanis may yet be able to do so.

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