These are interesting times for Pakistan cinema. A bunch of new filmmakers are experimenting with different genres, working on fresh ideas

Pakistani directors try out new genres

Director Mehreen Jabbar during an interview outside the premiere of 'Ramchand Pakistani' during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
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When film director Omar Ali Khan wanted artificial blood for Pakistan's first GenNow slasher flick, Zibahkhana , he inventively mixed gelatine with food dye to suit the shoestring budget. The effect though was both real and repulsive. The story of four urban teenagers who take a shortcut to a rock concert through a forest only to face creepy blood-dripping zombies and other ghoulish creatures wowed the young home audience and the critics abroad. Zibahkhana , sub-titled Hell’s Ground — though the literal translation means, The Slaughterhouse — became the talking point of countless horror film festivals and even scalped two international awards.

These are interesting times for Pakistan cinema. A bunch of new filmmakers are experimenting with different genres, working on fresh ideas. Like Zibahkhana , director Muhammad Saife Hasan’s Victoria ka Ticket , inspired by writer Rohinton Mistry’s short story, isn't the usual Lollywood masala. And director Mehreen Jabbar's Ramchand Pakistani is based on the true story of a Pakistani Dalit boy and his father who spend five years in a Gujarat jail for accidentally crossing the border.

Equally interesting is the way money was rustled up for Ramchand Pakistani . Producer Javed Jabbar — "I also produced and directed Pakistan's first English film, ‘Beyond the Last Mountain’, in 1976 which was also shown in the first Bombay film festival," — reveals that the initial contribution came from home.

"But that apart, a group of 19 friends, ranging from IT professionals, biscuit company owners, hoteliers, even an editor, put their money into a film for the first time. Two commercial firms provided the rest," says Jabbar, who also served as a minister in Pervez Musharraf's government. The overall cost, director Mehreen says, is in the range of 700,000 US dollars (Rs 3 crore).

But the returns have been promising. The catalyst was Shoaib Mansoor's Khuda Ke Liye (2007) that dealt with the predicament of Muslims in the post 9/11 world and earned both critical acclaim and box-office dividends. Also released last year, Zibahkhana too has already recovered its cost. "I have even sold the rights for USA, UK and Japan," says Omar, 46, who grew up admiring Christopher Lee's Hammer movies and Ramsay horror flicks. Ironically, he also runs the finest website on Indian horror films. Ramchand Pakistani is scheduled for release across the border on August 1. "We have got the censor certificate but we want to publicise the film properly before releasing it in India," says Mehreen.

For an industry that enjoys doing action and romantic fantasies, involvement with realism is a relatively new feature. According to Javed, "It is part of a creation of contemporary Pakistani identity". Omar offers a slightly different take. "I just wanted to have fun. I set a cat among the pigeons because I wanted to do something that rips the system apart. This is my love letter to the slasher flicks I grew up with."