Pakistan: Ban on Indian-films during Eid reduced to one week
Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided to reduce the ban on the screening of Indian films during Eid from two weeks to one week, clearing the way for the release of Salman Khan-starrer "Race 3" and biopic "Sanju". The fresh notification reversed the previous ban for two days before and two weeks after the festival. Here are more details.
Bollywood films have huge fan following in Pakistan
Bollywood films, particularly the ones starring Salman, have a huge fan following in Pakistan; there was a huge-pressure from local film distributors to defer the release of Indian films as they would affect their business. However, distributors lobby with rights to Bollywood films is against the two-week ban of Indian films as the festive period is the most lucrative time for the movie business.
Bollywood films' distributor group responsible for undermining Pakistan films' business
Chairman of the Pakistan Film Distributors Association (PFDA), Chaudhry Ejaz Kamran blamed the Bollywood films' distributor group for undermining the business of homegrown films. "The group has always been in power. They don't understand that, because of this pressure, the welfare of local films will be affected. The distributors who purchased Pakistani films will suffer now," Kamran said.
It takes two weeks for a film to generate profit
A senior film distributor said the time given to the local industry to recover money was not enough as normally it takes around two weeks for a film to generate profit. "Distributors who purchased 'Race 3' will be screening it one week after Eid and this will disturb our financial interest at the box office," the distributor said.
