Pakistani cinemas shut down on Thursday to protest the government’s failure to halt “illegal” private cable TV channels which show banned Bollywood films, an industry official said.Movie houses here have been critical of private cable TV channels for showing Indian movies and songs that are officially banned in Pakistan.

“The cinema houses will observe the strike once a week from today until April 12. The government should immediately order the closure of channels which are not approved by the official Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority and allow movie theatres to air Indian movies,” Pakistan Film Exhibitors Association chief Jenhanzeb Baig told reporters in the central city of Multan.

Pakistan’s Lahore-based film industry, known as Lollywood, has suffered during the past two decades from competition from India’s Bollywood, based in the Indian commercial capital of Mumbai.

Cinema operators say they have also suffered losses because they are not allowed to screen the more popular Bollywood movies. As the number of film productions has dropped to fewer than sixty a year, the majority of owners have converted their movie houses into shopping malls or theatres for stage performances.

“The number of cinema houses has shrunk to just 67 in the country. We will go on an indefinite strike if the government fails to meet our demands,” Baig said adding any chance of a revival of Pakistani cinema would be linked to the closure of “unauthorised” cable TV channels and the lifting of the ban on Indian movies.

He also demanded that cinema houses should be exempted from excise duty.

Source: DNA