Despite a blanket ban on Bollywood movies in Pakistan, the industry continues to be vastly popular in the Islamic Republic. Perturbed by Bollywood’s popularity, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged Pakistani filmmakers to not copy Bollywood and instead promote Pakistani culture. Ironically, Imran Khan is a self-confessed fan of Turkish drama.
Speaking at a short film festival in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the Pakistani filmmakers to focus on creating new and original content instead of just blatantly imitating Bollywood.
Khan further stated that initially Pakistani film industry was “influenced” by Bollywood which culminated into a practice of copying and adopting another nation’s culture.
The Dawn quoted Khan as saying, “So the most important thing I want to say to young filmmakers is that according to my experience of the world, only originality sells — the copy has no value.” Khan also drove down the importance of originality as implored the filmmakers to come up with new ways of thinking.
He continued, “So my (advice) to young filmmakers is to bring your own original thinking and don’t fear failure.”
The Pakistan PM added, “It is my life’s experience that the one who is afraid of defeat can never win.”
Khan concluded his speech by issuing a clarion call for promoting Pakistaniyat as he said, “The world respects those who respect themselves.”
However, this is not the first time Imran Khan has attacked Bollywood as earlier in January 2020, Khan blamed Bollywood for rise in sex crime and divorce in Pakistan.
Khan remarked that, “Sex crimes are sky-rocketing in Pakistan; paedophilia is rising. Child pornography is prevalent in Pakistan; our government is clamping down on this.”
He added, “We take content coming from Hollywood, then Bollywood and then Pakistan… People who use this content don’t understand Western culture. They don’t understand that the most harmful thing of the Western culture is being imported here via Hollywood.”
On one hand Imran Khan wants to promote Pakistani culture in the country’s cinema, on the other hand during the peak of the first wave of the Wuhan coronavirus, Khan was busy recommending Turkish shows to Pakistanis.
In May 2020, Khan stated that, “our children and youth” should watch Ertuğrul, so that they can learn to differentiate between the real Islamic culture and the “third-hand” one that reaches Pakistan via Hollywood and Bollywood. He said, “It (Ertugrul) also has romance, history… (and) has Islamic values.”
Imran Khan is a living example of how irony jumps to death whenever he opens his mouth. From the twice divorced Khan lamenting about the rising cases of divorce in Pakistan to urging the filmmakers to showcase Pakistani culture while he himself binge watches and recommends Turkish dramas – Imran Khan’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.