Hollywood vs. Bollywood but were is Lollywood?

Lollywood is the film industry that is situated in Pakistan neighbor to India the country that houses Bollywood. Yet were as the name of Bollywood is fast becoming a household name Lollywood is struggling to be recognized in its own country. Lollywood and Bollywood started around the same time and presented their movies in the similar format yet one has achieved Oscar level awards and worldwide recognition while the other has only shrunk.

As a Pakistani I find it had to portray my county and my people in a positive light especially when the western media's war on Pakistan. I believe that the Pakistani movie industry is essentially our ambassador to the outside world. Yet our movies continue to flop one after the other which begs the question, what are the other film industries doing that makes them so successful?

When we think of the movie capital of the world we think of Hollywood in California or Bollywood in Bombay. When comparing Hollywood to Bollywood there are more differences than similarities. Most people assume that the Hollywood produces more movies a year than anywhere else in the world it’s movies are certainly most well known. However in reality Bollywood produces more than 800 films a year were as the Hollywood produces half as many.

Both film industries produce movies that are structurally different from each other Hollywood movies have a realistic theme even if the movie is sci-fi or fantasy when watching a movie like Lord of the Rings or Avatar we cannot help but feel we are there. Though to be fair the technologically superiority play a major role in the department. Another fact about Hollywood films is that the actors are professionals when they act and show emotions such as crying they make it look quite believable.

Bollywood on the other hand has several movie stars that our generation has grown up seeing such as Shahrukh Khan. All of their actors are unique and each adds their own unique flavor to their movies. Secondly all movies are essentially musicals. Indian movies try to strike a balance their will never be a purely horror movie there are always elements of comedy or romance mixed in. Another thing about them is that they promote family values which is a topic western filmmakers tend to avoid.

I believe that the Pakistani movie industry need above all else is uniqueness. Bollywood proved that to be successful we do not need technology or a high budget. We need only to stop coping Hollywood or Bollywood we need to stand on our own feet and present our unique culture to the world.

Today, Pakistani cinema has all but vanished. In 1985, 1,100 movie houses operated in Pakistan; today, only 120 are in business. Most directors have already given up and the few directors, producers and cinema owners that are still in this business often rely on second jobs to make ends meet.

We are at the bottom of the well and the only way is up. But we can only climb if we have the strength of will to do so. So I would like to encourage all Pakistani that read this article to create a small spark it can be a script, video anything and post on your own blog or on YouTube and perhaps your idea will be the one to turn into a roaring fire and raise Lollywood to the top.


By: Danish Ahmed