Stay put Karachi-wallahs, Lollywood ain’t going anywhere!

Ever since the new age Pakistani film-makers are reviving the industry with their efforts, there has been this constant debate surrounding what our film industry should be called. Now historically, the industry has been called Lollywood, since Lahore has been the major film center in Pakistan and most Pakistani Productions have come out of Lahore. But since now almost all films are coming out of Karachi, the Karachi-wallahs feel that this term needs to be updated.

Reportedly, the term Lollywood was coined by a Karachi-based columnist Saleem Nasir back in the 80’s when Lahore was the only place where films were being made and hence the name Lollywood ( L standing for Lahore). Just to give some historical perspective,  before independence the two major film centers of the sub-continent were Bombay and Lahore, but after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, with Bombay being a part of India we only had Lahore churning out films.

Cut to today, I’m sure you already know our industry saw a decline and then almost collapsed in the 2000’s and its only due to the new breed of film-makers that we seem to be heading in the right direction and the revival of the Industry is finally happening with more and more films releasing every year. However, since most of the films are coming out of Karachi, the Karachi-wallahs feel that the Lollywood name should be replaced by Kollywood, Kariwood, or basically anything but Lollywood.

We won’t get into this argument, for hey we are called Galaxy Lollywood, so you know what our take on this nonsensical debate is. We believe in celebrating our history and owning it! But since the Karachi-wallahs feel that they gave a few hits in the last few years, they are suddenly the authority on films and the name should be changed let me clear something. Karachi may be making some great films, but Lollywood is what started this revival ( Umm Khuda Kay Liyay, Bol, Waar), and from what it seems like we are going to take it to the next level now. Confused?

Well, three of the biggest stars of today, Shaan Shahid, Fawad Khan and Ali Zafar are all working on mega projects in Lahore and from the looks of it, things are big!

First, it is Shaan Shahid’s ‘Arth 2’ which has us super excited for we have been hearing great things about the film and people who have seen the rushes claim that this is going to be epic. The film is beautifully shot and why not, for it does have Shaan Shahid on the director’s seat. Moreover, Shaan is now working on his next ‘Zarrar’ and it is currently being shot in Lahore.

Next up is Bilal Lashari’s magnum opus ‘Maula Jutt reboot’ which features the biggest names from the industry and is currently being shot in Lahore. And if there is anything we have learnt from Bilal’s debut film Waar, we know he knows how to make a film. Furthermore, from what we have seen of the sets and have been hearing, this is another blockbuster in the making.

While we were excited about the earlier two Lollywood productions, Ali Zafar announced ‘Teefa In Trouble’ where he will be romancing Maya Ali. The film is currently being shot in Lahore under Ahsan Rahim’s direction and we expect nothing but the best from this duo. Also given its Ali’s debut Pakistani film, we are sure he will be extra careful himself and give us something worth cherishing.

Add to that prolific Lahore based director Shoaib Mansoor, who gacve us critically acclaimed hits ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ and ‘Bol’, with his new film ‘Verna’ releasing this Eid featuring the new hot favorite Mahira Khan and you’ll know why we are excited about this Lollywood comeback.

So listen up Karachi-wallahs, Lahore aka Lollywood is coming back with a bang and is definitely here to stay!