History of Pakistani Cinema
Rise & Golden Age of Pakistani Cinema (1947–1969)
Pakistani cinema began under tough conditions, after the Partition and the death of Quaid-e-Azam. Teri Yaad (1948), released on 7 August, became the country’s first feature film, though it never reached the success it was meant for.
Early hits followed: Do Ansoo (1950) achieved the first silver jubilee, Sassi (1954) hit golden jubilee status, and Yakke Wali (1957) became a landmark feminist Punjabi film.
The turning point came with the 1965 India-Pakistan war, banning Indian films unexpectedly boosted local cinema, creating massive demand for Urdu films. This gave rise to Waheed Murad, “the chocolate hero,” whose film Armaan (1966) became a cultural phenomenon.
Golden Age, driven by the 1965 Indian film ban, the rise of iconic stars like Waheed Murad, and landmark films that built the foundation of Lollywood’s identity.
Zia’s Islamization Era and the Decline
One of the first victims of this sociopolitical shift was the film industry. General Zia introduced a law requiring producers to hold a formal degree, disqualifying the majority of existing producers who lacked one. In the name of promoting Islamic values, cinemas in Lahore were forcibly shut down, and strict censorship policies were imposed.
It was in this climate that action films emerged as the dominant genre. The first major action film, Maula Jatt (1979), starring Sultan Rahi in the lead role, went on to achieve a silver jubilee after a long dry spell for the industry.
The industry then went into a deeper collapse again, between 1988 and 2002.
During this period, Pakistan’s first sci-fi film, Shaani (1989), won recognition at film festivals in Egypt, Korea/Moscow, but was largely ignored in its own country.
Further setbacks followed: Sultan Rahi, the lead of Maula Jatt, was murdered in 1996; director Nazrul Islam passed away in 1994; and actress Anjuman and others gradually stepped back from the industry, some citing marriage and family commitments.
Revival of Pakistani Cinema (2003–2018)
Following President Musharraf’s media liberalization policies, filmmakers sighed with freedom. In 2007, “Khuda Kay Liye” broke the four-decade-old ban on cross-border collaboration,
marking a turning point for the industry’s revival.
Then in 2016, when Bollywood films were first banned, driven by rising India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir. Local cinema felt like a blessing, as its biggest competitor was effectively removed from the domestic market. This gave a further boost to domestic hits like Waar (2013), Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (2015), and Punjab Nahi Jaungi (2017), which became Pakistan’s highest-grossing film at the time. Overall, more cinemas opened during this 15-year period than ever before, and the industry finally took real steps toward a sustainable, long-term revival.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Opinion Desk.
