The project of Cinepax in the federal capital, a joint venture between Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Cinepax for establishing a five-screen cinema with a setup of food courts, shopping mall and health club, is in doldrums, an official of Cinepax told media.
He said the construction of the basic structure of the cinema was started on 10 acres of land, but the law and order situation in the federal capital paused the construction after the investors expressed their reservations over the project.
He said the declining standard of films was resulting in the downfall of cinema industry in the country leading to the closure of 850 cinema houses out of 1000 in the country. The policymakers emphasising the exhibition of local movies in the cinemas have shaken the foundations of cinema industry. The film industry is producing substandard films, which fail to attract the entertainment lovers to the cinema houses, he added.
In this scenario, the cinema owners considering the demand and taste of the people started exhibition of Bollywood and Hollywood movies, said the official.
Among these cinemas, Cinepax Rawalpindi, is the popular one which opened its door for block buster Indian movies attracting maximum number of viewers and best of cinema experience by bringing all the latest Hollywood and Bollywood movies on the same day, he added.
It goes with houseful on holidays seating approximately 1,400 people with a variety of food services as the people of capital have not a single cinema in the city and they throng the ticket house of Cinepax in Rawalpindi.
“Pakistan has the potential to make quality movies, but the lack of advanced technologies, negligence of government and proliferation of piracy and heavy investment for the film industry caused the decline during the past two decades,” the official said, adding, the high cost movies like “Khuda key Liye” and “Ramchand Pakistani” generated more revenues than that of any Bollywood or Hollywood movie.
During the year 2009, only three movies were released with a flop status on the box office while such movies were the main reason for decreasing the number of cinema houses in the country. Pakistani films before 1965 made good business in the Indian markets and now they do not accept our films with the reason of poor quality, contents and the artistic quality of the production, he stated.
Scores of film-starved Pakistanis have been showing up at those cinemas screening Indian and Hollywood movies as there was no more quality movies in Lollywood and after the closure of the three cinema halls in Islamabad Nafdec I, Nafdec II and Melody, there was no place for the people to enjoy a short treat of an interesting story with popcorn.
Via: The News
