[1]Karachi: In a rare show of support for the local film industry, a leading Pakistani distributor and exhibitors have decided to shun two big releases —Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express and Akshay Kumar’s Once Upon A Time in Mumbai 2 — this Eid.
Distributor Abdul Rashid said that they have decided not to screen the two Bollywood movie to give a chance to four Pakistani films releasing on Eid.
“The reason is we have four big Pakistani releases lined up for Eid and this time we want to see how they fare at the box office without direct competition from Indian films,” Rashid said.
Both the Indian films were slated for release on August 8 but Rashid said now Pakistani filmmakers will get a chance to screen their films, “Josh”, “Waar”, “Main Huun Shahid Afridi' and “Ishq Khuda” during Eid.
Rashid is the leading distributor of Indian films in Pakistan and admitted the decision to not release the two Bollywood films during the festive time could result in loss of revenues for exhibitors.
“But this time we want to see what happens because we are accused of not supporting the Pakistani film industry.”
Rashid said he had been in touch with the production houses of the two Bollywood movies, UTV and Balaji and explained the situation to them.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/chennai-expressjpg-694