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Indian epic comes to Lollywood's rescue
Pakistan has allowed the screening of the epic Mughal-e-Azam in cinema halls across the country.
Pakistan has allowed the screening of the epic Mughal-e-Azam in cinema halls across the country.
Pakistan's Ministry of Culture and Sports has said that the income generated through the screening of the film would be utilised for charitable causes.
Meanwhile, the owner of the magnum opus, Akbar Asif, has also refuted claims he was not going to show the movie in Pakistan.
Akbar, the son of K Asif, who directed the original Mughal-e-Azam in 1960, starring Dillip Kumar, Preethvi Raaj and Madhubala, said that some newspapers had printed incorrect news items saying that Mughal-e-Azam would not be shown in Pakistan.
He said there was no truth to these claims and that the screening would go ahead as planned.
According to cinema circles, Mughal-e-Azam is already in Pakistan is likely to be shown to audiences either at the end of April or the start of May, reports the Daily Times.
Cinema owners in Pakistan are also hoping that Mughal-e-Azam along with Taj Mahal and Sohni Mahiwaal, the other two Bollywood movies approved by the federal government for screening in Pakistan, will give a boost to the country's collapsing film industry.
Nadeem Mandviwalla, the owner of the Nishat cinema in Karachi said that all the three films have the ability to bring the film industry back to its feet.
"I cannot say whether the movies will be a hit, but demand is high. I have been getting phone calls asking when we will be putting on Mughal-e-Azam," he said.
"It's a start. These Indian movies have been opened after a gap of 40 years, so there is no doubt that they will bring in business. Obviously, they will not attract as many people as a Shahrukh Khan or an Amir Khan movie, but they will attract audiences back to cinema houses," he added.
