Social media blitz leading to closure of cinemas in KP

PESHAWAR, Aug 29 :Ehsan Khan, a 55-year-old aficionado of Pakistani cinema, is deeply disheartened by the recent closure of iconic theaters such as Tasweer Mahal and Novelty in Peshawar due to the onslaught of social media.
The decline in cinema attendance, driven by the rise of social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, has severely impacted the local entertainment industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in Peshawar, which was once known as the city of performing art and musicians.
Ehsan, who recently returned to Peshawar after 20 years abroad, was distressed to witness the shuttering of 16 cinema houses in Peshawar city once renowned for its vibrant arts scene.
“Before I went abroad for labour work in 2004, my friends and I frequented Tasweer Mahal, Shabistan, and Novelty cinemas to watch our favourate Pashto, English, and Urdu films in a relaxed setting. It was a source of immense joy and pleasure for us,” he recalled.

The closures of notable cinemas such as Shabistan (Firdus), Palwasha, Capital, Falak Sair, Novelty, Metro, Picture House, Sabrina, and Ihsrat due to internet invasion have been particularly disheartening for film enthusiasts. Many of these venues have been repurposed into commercial spaces and hotels, depriving thousands of moviegoers of their cherished entertainment options.
Besides these oldest cinemas, Arshad Cinema, Sabreena, Aaeena, Naz and Shama were mostly deserted these days due to lack of new films, high-production film-cost, pathetic seating facilities and lacklustre approach of the authorities towards film and entertainment industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Peshawar has a unique distinction of producing many national and international legendary films starts including Bollywood iconic hero Yousaf Khan alias Dalip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Lollywood famous actors Qavi Khan, Ismail Shahid, Najeebullah Anjum, Javeed Babar and Firdus Jamal who ruled over cinema world. The presence of these cinema legends was almost a guarantee for the success of a movie at the box office.
However, the loss of seven cinemas including those of the colonial era due to the lack of production of new films in Urdu and Pashto, property taxes on cinemas, security concerns, and rising trend of social media and commercialization adversely affected the entertainment industry in the city of artists besides discouragement of new talent.
Renowned psychiatrist and former principal of Khyber Medical College, Professor Dr Khalid Mufti said cinema was important for a healthy and tolerant society due to its positive impact on people’s mental and psychological mood.
He said cinema was an effective tool for nation-building and expanding the country’s soft image globally, adding that quality films have the widest impact among all art forms including dramas, stages and theatres.

Dr Mufti said that one of the reasons for the rising trend of intolerance, incidents of terrorism and violence in the society was dying cinema culture in the wake of the mushroom growth of social media and commercialism.
He admitted that social media has also adversely affected cinema culture and demanded the construction of new cinemas and exemption of taxes and customs duties on film equipment besides job security for film-makers, producers and artists for sustainable promotion of performing arts in Pakistan.
The proliferation of internet use in Pakistan, which crossed 111 million early this year, has mainly contributed to the decline of the entertainment industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
About 71.90 million people use social media which is equating to 29.5 million of the total population of the country. Similarly, about 188.9 million cellular connections are active in Pakistan which is equal to 77.8 percent of 241 million population. Alike, the users of Facebook have jumped to record 44.50 million while 71.70 million population use YouTube, 17.30 million on Instagram, 54.38 million TikTok and 30.21 million snapchat, affecting films and TV dramas.
“When I was a student at University, I used to watch a quality movie at Firdus cinema every Sunday. Now I am extremely disappointed to see the demolished Firdus cinema where a trade Plaza was constructed, resulting in the deprivation of thousands of fans of entertainment,” said Nasir Khan, a film lover at Arshad Cinema and a resident of Mardan.
The closure of two cinemas including ‘Taj’ cinema in Mardan have forced him to visit Peshawar to watch a Pashto film in a relaxed environment,” said Nasir.
“When I visited Peshawar for my favourite ‘Titanic’ English movie and Pashto film ‘Orbal’ in my student life at Capital Cinema on Arbab Road, it was jam-packed, leaving me with no chance but to purchase an advance ticket to watch my favourite movies. It was extremely heartening that today’s oldest cinema of Peshawar is no more,” he said.

Nasir said that he along with friends was planning to move to Rawalpindi and Lahore to watch some new movies in a relatively better cinema environment there on upcoming weekend.
Besides Peshawar, four cinemas in Nowshera also became victims of commercialization and trade besides social media onslaught, he said.
Gohar Khan Yousafzai, manager Sabrina Cinema Peshawar told APP that he screened two shows daily of a Pashto movie by charging only Rs250 per ticket every day, adding there are hardly 50 people in the cinema hall these days which is highly discouraging and now most of films shows were shifted to the weekend to avert financial losses.
Renowned film artist Javed Babar who is also Pride of Performance said that the reasons for dying cinemas were its poor story content and outdated cinematography, wrong presentation of Pashto culture and vulgarity besides internet blitz.
“A quality film normally requires around Rs 10 million investment while most film producers are being asked for production of a Pashto movie at Rs three million cost which was insufficient to produce a quality Pashto movie,” he said.
He said Pashto films have high-profit potential due to vast viewership in Pakistan mostly in KP, Karachi and Afghanistan, recalling that when a Pashto film was finally released in the city in the past, thousands of film lovers with beat drums gathered outside the cinema houses and cheered in favour of their favourite hero that was now hardly seen today in Peshawar. “Our cultural values and minimal wages discourage new talent from joining the film industry courtesy to social media blitz.”
Despite incidents of terrorism, he said local film producers and cinema owners of KP had remained resilient and kept cinema houses functional even in the most difficult times and provided entertainment to people.
He urged the KP government to support those who believed in quality film work and provide financial incentives to revive the film industry in KP.
“We urged the provincial government to exempt cinemas from excessive taxation and provide better wages to the artist community enabling them to produce quality films like Orbal, Khana Badosh, Alzam and Deedan imperative for a knowledge-based tolerant society,” he said.