How Lollywood lost Lakshmi
Catalogue essay for Arts of the People IV “Lollywood-
Pakistani film posters” Fukuoka Asian Art Museum 2006
By
Durriya Kazi
The earliest known posters were
printed as lithographs in single or two colour. When technology grew these
became a better quality with four-colour printing. The posters were originally
hand-painted in oils or poster paints in real size, made from movie stills
selected by the artist. Sometimes, they were a combination of
photo-collage and painted images. Since the mid 80’s these were replaced
mostly by pasted photographs and a minimal amount of painting. Today
even this handwork is sadly giving way to computer imaging printed on the
dreaded panaflex 【11】. Lahore is the last remaining
painted poster industry left in India and Pakistan. Here too it is rapidly being
pushed into history by the desire to modernize or maybe by the successful
marketing of new technology. Last year alone, some 50 artists left
Lakshmi chowk, the heart of the Lollywood distribution and painter’s market in Lahore . Some
are driving rickshas, some are painting “orientalist” paintings for Arab
Sheikhs; one successful ex-Lakshmi artist earns money making huge paintings of
President Qaddafi in Libya . Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of prosperity
and good luck, but luck seems to be running out in Lakshmi Chowk.
Film
posters and hand painted hoardings are as important to South Asian film as the
film itself. It is not simply an announcement of the
film, but as Ajmal, one of the few remaining artists in Lakshmi Chowk’s Royal
Park, says, “we make the actors
into stars.” The
hoardings or “banners” as they are
called can be on a very large scale even 150 feet in length, composed according
to the subject of film: action, romance or comedy. The work is commissioned by
the film distributor. Action movies are
Ajmal’s favourites. The composition techniques are simple:
the hero has prominence, the villain either balances the hero or must be lower
or in the background. Scale change is managed by a system called “in-out”:
more important images are placed “in” ie, in the foreground and the lesser
characters are placed “out” or in the background. The artists are passionate about film and are
very much a part of the film industry.
While some artists paint both
banners and posters, usually the poster painters are specialists. The
undisputed master painter was the late Mustafa. All agree they cannot reach
his heights. Mustafa worked with an airbrush, and
is greatly admired for the good taste of his compositions, by how each pearl in
a necklace is made in great detail, how he only accepted payment in an
envelope, and mostly how secretive he was with his work. His
son, Rafique Chugtai carried on his father’s tradition; some feel works signed
by him were actually painted by his father to establish his son’s name.
On the
other hand, Azad, the other great master, who migrated from India at
partition, and died in November 2006, had many pupils, worked with a brush and
had a bolder style. The late S. Khan was the most prolific artist and
his speed is legendary. Today his son, S
Iqbal runs the studio, still signing his fathers name rather than
his own as a mark of love and respect. A realist, S. Iqbal has changed with the market and today his son turns his
sketches into photoshop images for printing on panaflex. Students of S. Khan add an ‘S’ before their name to
indicate they belong to the school
of S. Khan
The artists are apprenticed as
young as 10 years old. Usually the parents give in to their
passion for painting and place them under the tutelage of an ustad or master. Afzal’s
grandfather was also a poster artist. The artists themselves are the real
appreciators of the styles of other artists and remember what they consider to
be masterpieces much as one speaks of famous paintings.
Mise-en-scene
The posters indicate the
melodramatic nature of Pakistan
films. Melodrama is the dominant genre of all
South Asian films. Pakistani films, like their Indian
counterparts, play out the pressures of social change. Melodrama allows
mediation of social crises usually in a family context internalizing larger
issues of social change. Sometimes it is subsequently
externalized onto society much as Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy affected all of Verona . While
melodrama reinforces traditional roles of patriarchy, subordinate women,
motherhood, the fallen woman, it also allows a space to cross these lines. In
a way Pakistani films bring the male roles into a domestic even feminine world
where the male is forced through conflict to relinquish or negotiate his desire
to control. Similarly women can express their love in ways
that are not permissible in society. The role of women in Pakistani films
has evolved far more than that of their male counterparts, as is true of
Pakistani society in general. From the earlier very domesticated, shy but
troubled, woman of the early films, who shocks herself with her own desires,
the ‘bad’ girl became a hallmark of the 70’s: she goes to the nightclub, drinks
alcohol and chooses her male partners. Of course she is the alter ego of the
good woman and her end is always tragic in true courtly love tradition. From
the 80’s a new heroine has emerged: confident, independent, able to look after
herself, often an “expert” in martial arts! Nevertheless, while the
possibilities of independence can be suggested, these must be played out within
a male world.
The dominant theme of all films
is love. In fact love also dominates poetry,
songs, and most greeting cards and decorative devices. In a society where the
expression of love even within marriage is “hidden” and almost unacknowledged
as a need, there is nevertheless a tacit compassion for the longing for this
most natural of desires. Transgressions form the core of all
films with consequences that end in tragedy or socially accepted endings.
Film, while it is a publicly
shared experience, also creates a private and ‘safe’ neutral space for
acknowledging human dilemmas that are ignored in the face of the loud
political, social and economic wrangling that dominates public interaction. In
Pakistani films these human issues are not addressed in the language of
realism. In a society where people have little
control over the outcome of their lives, where every turn of event, good or
bad, is seen to be the will of Allah or Bhagwan, reality must be disguised in a
scenario of the “supra-real”, much as dreams disguise themselves in
symbolism.
Indian and Pakistani Cinema seems
to occupy a supramundane space like most popular arts in Pakistan , where
rules of society and politics are temporarily suspended. This
is also what the public expects from cinema: reassurance that what appears to
overshadow their lives, is really “temporary” and the important matters of life
inhabit a sublime reality. The success of Bollywood and Lollywood
has been its ability to understand this need. As an extreme example of
this deliberate removal from the everyday, imagine the following:
Also on August 14, 1947 , a film is released
all over India
called “Ailaan” or announcement. The Director, Mehboob, had arrived in Lahore for its release. Because
of riots, the reels could not be delivered from Lahore ’s railway station. Yet,
not to be deterred, Chaudhrey Eid Mohammed, owner of Rattan cinema, Lahore,
somehow ignores all the trauma his city is experiencing, especially at the
railway station where droves of families, some dead some alive, were arriving
without homes to go to, smuggles out the reels and announces its opening at his
cinema.
In 1947 alone India produced 184
films, while politicians were negotiating, ordinary people were preparing for
partition, gathering their belongings, trying to survive the cruelty and chaos
around them. But it seems they never stopped going
to the cinema.
Flashback
Indian Cinema has a long and
successful history. The first silent movies came to India only seven months after they were first shown
in Paris by the
Lumiere brothers in 1895. Indian
cinema rapidly developed a genre of its own. Its roots exist in popular
traditions such as nautanki theatre,
stage plays, dastaan gohi or
storytelling traditions, and of course the narrative sung poetry of Sufi
saints. These too made use of stereotypes, versified
dialogue, songs and dance. The origin of
Pakistani cinema is in turn rooted in Indian cinema. Although Pakistani and Indian
cinema has now diverged subtly because of the different directions the two
countries have taken, religiously, socially, economically and in terms of
technology, the early films and filmmakers really came from the same creative
pool.
When Pakistan was created in 1947, it
inherited a rural part of India
with little or no infrastructure, a huge influx of immigrants that needed to be
housed, a new government system to be established, an empty treasury. Against this backdrop, the emergence of
Pakistani cinema can be seen as a heroic movement. As early as 1947, films were
being made in spite of the chaos all around. Lahore had an established film industry,
producing films as early as the 1920s. There were 2000 cinema houses across
the country. There were almost two dozen film
studios in Lahore
alone. Most of these were owned by non-Muslims. At partition many films that
were under production, as well as equipment, were taken by the owners who
migrated from Lahore
to be completed in Bombay .
However, in the early years,
Bollywood and Lollywood continued their association as if partition had not
really taken place, with actors, musicians, directors, financiers, technicians
traveling easily between the two countries to work on each others films. Seeing
economic potential, many Indian distributors opened offices in Lahore and Karachi . Dilip Kumar, Kamni Kaushal,
Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Munawwar Sultana were equally loved by audiences in the new
Pakistan
and epitomized cinema. Many Muslim filmmakers decided to stay in India and some
came to Pakistan only to return to Bombay, while some Hindu film-makers
remained in Pakistan or came back as early as September 1947 when calm
returned.
Nevertheless an important core
group opted to develop Pakistani cinema. While Indian cinema continued
seamlessly with all their studios in tact, Pakistani film makers had to spend a
lot of time re-equipping studios that had been stripped by their owners. Clerks
became managers, technicians took to directing. Revitalizing the cinema
industry was not even on the list of the new Pakistani government which had its
hands full with establishing a new country.
In 1924, the Bhatti Gate artistes
had formed a collective film association which included many who became big
names in Indian cinema: A. R.
Karadar, Nazir, M. Ismail, Master
Ghulam Haider amongst others. It was an idealistic rather than an economically
driven group. It is said that while Bombay produced economic success, Lahore focused on
culture.
The first film after partition
was “Do kinarey” (two shores) begun
in November 1947, by Dilsukh M. Pancholi who had fled Lahore in August to return the next month. It
was never completed as Dilsukh returned to Bombay . The first official Pakistani
film, then was “Teri Yaad” (Memories
of You) made by Sardari Lal, unfortunately released just before the father of
the Nation, Jinnah, died in September
11, 1948 . While not a very good film, its
significance was overshadowed by a nation mourning the loss of its founding
father.
Stars are born
The first filmmaker who
consciously and tirelessly sought to establish a competitive Pakistani film
industry was the director Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, a charismatic personality who
fell in love with, and later married Noor Jehan, the greatest legend that Pakistani film industry has produced. Along
with many others such as Nazir, W. Z. Ahmed, Sibtain Fazli, Luqman,
Swaranlata, Ragni, Himalyawala, M. Ismail,
Santosh Kumar, who gave up successful careers to migrate to Pakistan , they
too were successful in India . Noor Jehan was a child prodigy whose voice
has mesmerized listeners from 1932 when she was a six year old stage performer,
till 1998, singing, some say, 6000 songs. A young girl of exquisite
beauty, she acted in only 12 films and has the honour of being the first woman
director on “Chanway” in 1951 when
she was just 25. Her beautiful singing voice is what has
made her a legend rivaling India ’s
Lata Mangeshkar as a playback singer.
The first film that had success
in both Pakistan
and India ,
and proved the viability of Pakistani cinema was “Pheray “(marriage circles) directed by Majid
and produced by Swaranlata, who also acted in it with her husband Nazir. This was the first of the genre of Punjabi
films which, in a much altered form, have become the backbone of Pakistani
cinema. The story was based on a Hindu
family set against the backdrop of landlordism in rural areas. Its
songs written and composed by Baba Alam Siyahposh and G. A. Chishti, reportedly
in one day, were a hit.
In spite of many flops, Pakistani
film makers persisted and steadily grew as an industry. Pakistan has produced about 4500
films averaging 80 a year. However the films can be divided by the
political rather than artistic developments in the country. Until
the mid 50’s films, were made to make inroads into a market dominated by a
successful Indian film industry. Mostly these films dealt with themes
relevant to both countries, landlordism, the conflict between urban values and
rural life, all of course centring on love stories. “Roohi” (1954) by the progressive film maker W. Z. Ahmed, became the first film to be banned for its strong socialist
message, although officially, the Censor Board objected to the flirtation of a
married woman with another man and its rape scenes. “Qatil” (murderer) 1955,
also has the evil of wealth as its central theme. While “Baghi” (Rebel) 1956, is a tragedy highlighting the system where the
poor cannot get justice. “Waadah”
(The Promise) 1957, also by W. Z. Ahmed, was an award winning film with a similar theme of the losing
battle for justice in a rich man’s world.
Around this time, filmmakers
formed the Pakistan Film Producers Association whose main aim was to resist the
import of Indian films to give Pakistani films a chance to establish. In 1956, Bengali cinema of East Pakistan (former
Bangladesh ),
was born in Dhaka . Films attracted writers of
literary standing such as Manto and Josh Malihabadi. A new generation of actors
were introduced who were distinctly Pakistani such as Sabiha, Shamim Ara (who
later turned to production). The
Nigar Film Awards were established in 1958. In 1959 martial law was
established under Field marshal Mohammed Ayub Khan. He realized the propaganda
power of film and established the Department of Film and Publications and
insisted on films in regional languages and generally commissioned films as a
propaganda tool. He introduced the pictorial newsreel that ran
before every film showing. After 1962,
he relaxed his control and encouraged documentaries on culture and history,
establishing this genre in Pakistan . At
this time Pakistan Televison was established, which also added another
dimension to film making. It led to a progressive social realist
cinema eg. A J Kardar’s “Jago,
Huwa Savera” (Wake! Here comes
the Dawn!), which won a prize at the Moscow Film festival and “Kartar Singh”, considered a highlight in
Pakistani cinema with a successful release in India as well.
A new generation of actors
dominated the 70’s. These were Waheed Murad, a university
graduate, the first heartthrob of Pakistani cinema, called “the chocolate hero”
by journalists, the screen pair Mohammed Ali and Zeba, Neelo a feisty actress
whose famous role in Zarqa, made by her husband, the revolutionary minded Riaz
Shahid, about a Palestinian freedom fighter caused ripples; Shamim Ara
established a socially proper heroine, however she turned eventually to
production and direction and made a series of films about strong women. Rani,
who married the director Hasan Tariq, with her tragic beauty, was the ultimate
fallen woman in “Umrao Jan Ada” about a Mughal courtesan, and of course Nadeem and Shabnam from East Pakistan who acted in Lahore films. Dhaka
made its own productions with Rahman as the most successful actor. A
new wave of commediens also emerged: Nanna, Rangeela, Munwar Zareef and Lehri. “Armaan” (Longing) written and produced by Waheed Murad who also starred in
it, became the first Pakistani
Platinum Jubilee (over 75 weeks).
Adjusting the lens
The
films of this decade addressed a younger audience, second generation
Pakistanis, who were enjoying the fruit of the economic revolution of the 60’s
had no personal experience of the trauma of Partition, and by now even first
generation Pakistani whose new families were growing, wanted to think
optimistically. Mostly romances, family based
melodramas, comedies. Another reason was the 1965 war with India over Kashmir , during which Pakistani people united as never
before and expressed patriotic passion. Noor Jehan’s songs for soldiers on the
front have remained some of her most loved songs. The imports of Indian films
were banned. This finally gave Pakistani film a
chance to cater to all of Pakistani Society. Unfortunately in this freedom
were also the seeds of downfall, because it was too tempting for some
film-makers to make their version of successful Indian films, rather than
struggling with their own creations. Storywriters became a minority while
scriptwriters became more in demand.
Further political upheavals yet
again, changed the fortunes of the film industry. Ayub Khan was forced to
resign and another marshal law was imposed. Elections were held in 1970. Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto won in West Pakistan and Sheikh
Mujeebur Rehman in East Pakistan . The impasse between these two leaders led to a
bloody civil war in March 1971 and the secession in December 1971 of East Pakistan (Bangladesh ). The
films of 1971 and 1972 reflected more questioning themes, more themes of pride,
history, violence. By 1973, this nation with its desire to
escape reality returned to light hearted films. This decade also saw a
political protest film criticizing Bhutto’s hypocritical autocracy. A black
comedy, “Insan aur Gadha” (Man and
Donkey) by Syed Kemal shows a donkey (a symbol of stupidity), who becomes a powerful man, while
still keeping the characteristics of a donkey. The most obvious scene was a
political address to a field full of donkeys. Syed Kemal had to escape to
avoid the repercussions of his production.
In 1977, Bhutto declared the
imposition of Islamic ethics. Nightclubs, gambling, horseracing and alcohol
were prohibited. He was overthrown by his chief of army staff General Zia ul Haq,
who imposed 11 years of strict dictatorship, and further institutionalized
Islamic laws, placing the country into a confusion of laws and establishing the
culture of hypocrisy, which even 15 years after his death in 1989, continues to
wield its power. 450 films were banned, conservative
dress codes were “encouraged.” The
religious zealots, who once occupied the fringes of society, acquired powerful
roles, supported, ironically, by Western powers to assist with the Taliban
resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and the western fear of the
spread of communism. While women were made conscious of
wearing their scarves, and were being arrested for adultery, and laws were
imposed making eating in public during Ramadhan a crime, this was also a time
of drugs, crime barons, klashnikovs that came into Pakistan with 3 million
Afghan refugees, and policies of political survival by those in power. Bootlegging grew as entertainment shrunk. Film makers of any worth felt uninspired or
crushed. At the same time, home videos arrived
and pirated Indian videos flooded the market. Sophisticated, technically
superior, and with a new kind of lively hero and heroine, they made Pakistani
stars pale by comparison. Hundreds of cinemas closed down and
were converted to shopping malls or offices. Yet in 1984, Zia ul Haq’s
government announced Government Film Awards for the first time
The only niche in the market, as
realized with the earlier success of “Chanway” (1951), were Punjabi films, for
which there was no Indian substitute. At the same time, families virtually
stopped going to the cinema, which therefore had to cater to a new, less
discriminating audience. Sultan Rahi, an actor happy once, to find work
as an extra, took the film world by storm. “Maula
Jat” (1979), which ran for two and a half years, before it was
removed from cinemas for showing censored scenes of violence, has become a
byword in Pakistan
for the proud revengeful aggressive villager fighting landlords and enemies
with lots of blood spattered in every scene, lots of women whose honour must be
protected. A new genre had been created.
Instead
of the traditional film producers, the new financiers are the Gujjar tribesmen,
milk tycoons. Scripts were almost interchangeable,
and the films didn’t advance technically. However “Maula Jat” or maybe Sultan Rahi and his
director Aslam Dar, caught the imagination of the poor man. One may question his influence in changing
behaviour, in introducing aggressive violent outrage as an acceptable response.
This
is also the time that Pushto pornography is introduced. Unlike any stereotypic
concept of pornography, the women in Pushto films are very fat and clad mostly
in lycra bodysuits as they seduce their lovers with quite active dances. It
is interesting that Musarrat Shaheen, the star of Pushto films, stood against a
religious leader in the general elections, and even managed to get a
respectable number of votes.
The cinema continues to ignore
religious sermons. Again it is understood by all including
the clergy that films may address or reflect society, but they are not a part
of society and rules of society do not apply. One may come across paint
thrown on an advertising billboard with a normally clothed female image, but
not on the huge billboards with a woman smoking, wearing revealing clothes, in
the arms of her beloved.
One may ask what happened to all
those creative producers, directors and writers. Some melted away unable to
cope with this new wave. Some turned to television production as
private channels came into being in the 90’s. Others stuck their ground and
a new generation of producers and directors such as Sajjad Gul and Syed Noor, and
actors such as Shaan, Babar Ali, Rambo, Reema, and Mira continued making films,
although they have never attained the heights of their predecessors. Some
older actors continue to interest audiences such as Nadeem, Babra Shareef,
Badar Muneer, while the female stars, Sangeeta and Shamin Ara continue to
produce and direct films. The film journalist, Yasin Gorija, 89 this
year, has been a one man crusade to record and honor Pakistani films from 1947
till today from his small office on McLeod Road, Lahore, round the corner from
Lakshmi Chowk.
In recent times, there has been
an interest from non-Lollywood personalities to intervene in the destiny of
Pakistani films: Samina Peerzada, a female television star, directed and acted
in “Intezar” waiting) 1999, which was well received. Many
young people see Pakistani melodrama films as a kitsch cult, the worse made the
better. Films like “Zindah Laash” (the Living
Dead) Pakistan ’s first horror movie, “Shaanee”, the first Sci-fi film and “Maula
Jat” have a loyal following. The
International Karafilm festival, which began in 2001 for mostly, independent
film makers, each year honours someone from the Pakistani film industry,
exhibits film posters, and in December 2005 included a season of films by
Rangeela, the master of black comedy, who died earlier in the year. Ironically
the impetus to revive Pakistani film has come from Indian interest in Pakistani
actresses and musicians and many collaborations are planned with the thawing of
relations between the two countries.
However, even if or when the
Pakistani film industry takes an upward turn, one loss may never be filled –
the magical artists of Lakshmi Chowk. …….Dissolve to fade
Bibliography:
1.Gazdar, Mushtaq, Pakistani Cinema 1947-97, Oxford University Press, Karachi 1997
2. Gorija, Yasin, 100 Great Pakistani Films, Alhamra Publishing. Lahore 2000
3. Gorija, Yasin, Lakshmi Chowk, Shahzad Commercial Corporation,
Lahore 2000
4. Gorija, Yasin , Pakistan
5. Hayward
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