Moor: Emergence of Pakistani Cinema at Busan

Pakistani filmmaker Jami Mahmood at the 20th Busan International Film Festival.

For a few years, Pakistani cinema has been lingering in mediocrity in the name of its ‘revival’. Evident by the film releases in the past years, which although have generated good revenue, consistently lack in quality storytelling. For most Pakistani filmmakers, it was either imitating Bollywood or cashing in on the patriotic sentiment – none of the resultant films provided anything unique to Pakistani or international audience, who were expecting a growth in Pakistani film aesthetics after the success of ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ (2007) and ‘Bol’ (2011).

That state of limbo came to an end when, at the 20^th Busan International Film Festival, Moor (English: Mother) by Jami Mahmood had its international premiere. The film festival began on October 1 with amazing energy, gathering filmmakers, producers, film artists and enthusiasts from all across the world. Surprisingly (or not), among the hundreds of films screened, Moor was the only Pakistani film in the festival.

The film revolves around the story of a railway station master in Pakistan who struggles with a moral dilemma of being involved in the breaking and stealing of railway tracks and supporting his family or protecting his motherland.

With three shows lined up for the audiences, all of them were full of Pakistanis living in Korea as well as Korean film lovers who wanted a taste of Pakistani cinema. I managed to catch the last show on October 6.

As the end credits rolled and the lights hit, director Jami Mahmood, actors Hameed Sheikh and Shaz Khan, along with the Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Mr. Zahid Nasrullah Khan came out for the question-and-answer session.

The director and the cast thanked the audience for coming out to watch the film. The Ambassador Mr. Khan said, “I am proud to see a beautiful Pakistani film and that too here in Korea,” and that it is great to see Pakistanis coming out to support the cinema. He thanked everyone for inviting him.

Jami started with how the film took about five years to make. Earlier when I talked to Jami about the audience reaction to ‘Mother’, he said, “We are not a major film here so it is very interesting to see the way the audience were dissecting the film, the questions they were asking. I was not expecting this. Koreans have totally blown me away.”

The first show at 11 am on October 2 was half full, the October 5 and 6 show was sold out. Jami said it was interesting to see Koreans so involved and curious about the films, and evidently, Jami too was excited to be there among them to witness the magic.

Talking to Jami prior the screening, we discussed the potential and the problems Pakistani cinema is facing. The first problem: No experimentation. Jami was quick to suggest that “We are not experimenting, we should be.” This being the ideal time for us to test out new models of narrative, we must experiment and create a unique identity for Pakistani cinema. But as Jami said, “We are copying Bollywood. All of a sudden, we know what to do.” And the dilemma is we are not even good at it because “It’s not ours. It does not come to us naturally… We don’t know how to do it but we’re still doing it.”

At this point in our revival, we must take risks and try out different formula but we are stuck to the tried Bollywood one. The issue arises because as much as it may work in India, it does not work in Pakistan. If we have to watch the same formula films, we might as well watch the Indian commercial ones. The point being that recent Pakistani films have not offered anything new to the audience. Jami suggests we need a new model to have both commercial formulaic films as well as experimental films survive. “You need to have two different voices. You have the Bollywood formula but don’t choke the other one.”

That is why, he said, he made Moor. No item numbers or storylines just suited for mindless entertainment, but a meaningful drama of a family struggling amid the broken and stolen railway tracks and corruption in Pakistan.

While two of the major film industries, Hollywood and Bollywood are stuck themselves, rebooting franchises and making zillions of sequels, the newly ‘revived’ Pakistani industry struggles with mediocre stories. Jami says, “Their glasses are covered with money… there are some very good films in Pakistan, but they don’t see the light of the day because they don’t fit in.”

Jami believes it is not that films with more focus on good storytelling rather than mediocre entertainment can’t make money. If you give them a chance, they can. An example would be the recently released ‘Manto’ (directed by Sarmad Khoosat) in Pakistan, which is based on the life of one of the best South Asian writers of the past century, Saadat Hasan Manto.

Technology has advanced in the past couple decades, Jami says, today, we can make low-budget films, even with a DSLR. That is a huge advantage for Pakistani filmmakers. That said, the downside is most of the films don’t get to have a run at the theaters as even major productions have a hard time getting distribution.

Asked about whether there was a possibility of the rise of underground indie theater culture, similar to one in New York, Paris and even Seoul, Jami said now is not the time as majority cinemagoers in Pakistan are not interested in watching films, say, of Renoir or Satyajit Ray. Most people still only enjoy item songs, dance sequences.

For Pakistani cinema to thrive, all kinds of films – art as well as mainstream commercial cinema – must co-exist. How would it possible? Jami suggests targeting international audience. If Pakistani films perform well in the international market, they can recover their revenue and strengthen Pakistani industry at the same time.

Asked whether there was a chance for collaboration between Pakistani and Korean filmmakers, Jami said, “That would be a dream come true. Koreans are so technologically advanced.”

What we lack is an institution, a body which offers such collaborative opportunities for emerging filmmakers. That’s why Jami said we came up with a project for young filmmakers who would submit their feature length screenplays and three would be chosen to make their film come to life.

The landscape of Pakistani cinema continues to evolve, albeit gradually. Recent releases like Moor and Manto continue to push the conventional and formulaic storytelling in Pakistan, which borrows heavily from its neighborhood film industry.

Just as Moor mesmerized Korean and Pakistani expat audience in Busan, a ray of hope emerges – a hope for Pakistani filmmakers to develop their own identity in world cinema. As Pakistanis in the cinema hall at Busan chanted ‘Pakistani Zindabad’ (Long Live Pakistan), I saw a sentiment of pride – a pride of seeing their country being appreciated in Korea. Young Korean film enthusiasts commending the Pakistani filmmaker’s efforts in bringing a meaningful to life with breathtaking visuals and performances, I sensed a pride in people’s eyes which radiated with the love of their ‘Moor’.