KKL and its release in India.

I have read a number of reviews of KKL on various websites and every review has just been fantasic. The film has been released with 100 prints all over India. The film is expected to do well.

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Indian cinegoers’ emotions are running high as the first Pakistani film releases here after 40 years. Two more are coming. The reception Pakistan’s big screen dreams receive in India, both critically and commercially, will go a long way in cementing cinematic ties between the countries, says Nandini Raghavendra.

When Neelam Kapur, director of film festivals got hold of the DVD of Khuda Kay Liye (KKL) for the International Film Festival (IFFI) in Goa last year—thanks to Naseeruddin Shah who has acted in the film—the last thing she expected was to have to hold three screenings! But word-of-mouth praise had moved fast and cine fans were eager to watch it.

KKL was the first Pakistani film to be screened at an Indian film festival. On April 4, 43 years after the last Pakistani film was released in India, KKL was released by Percept Picture Company (PPC) with 100 prints. “It is an important moment for both the countries and an emotional moment for me as well. I have a hidden wish that the film fares well in India and becomes a basis for the Pakistani film industry,” said the movie’s director Shoaib Mansoor, who is in Mumbai for the historic premiere.

While Shailendra Singh of PPC thinks he is being conservative with 100 prints, it is big business for Mansoor, who released KKL with just 20 prints in Pakistan.

And therein lies the million-rupee question. India means big business and big bucks for Pakistan. Veteran distributor Shyam Shroff of Shringar Films explains: “Reciprocity is important as they must have access to our market, which is bigger. There is definitely a niche market here for their Pushtu and Punjabi fare, while the Urdu fare has a big market.” But the case of Mansoor, who is on a 50:50 revenue sharing with PPC, is different.

At Rs 5 crore, the budget of KKL is by far one of the biggest (Pakistani movies usually have budgets of Rs 1-2 crore). Shot in the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the quality of production is impressive, the story touching and the music great. Even with 20 prints, Mansoor grossed Rs 7 crore in Pakistan.

His 10 prints in the UK earned Rs 80 lakh, while four prints in the UAE raked in Rs 40 lakh. He says that had the political situation in Pakistan not been as it is, the film would have been a bigger hit at home and would have grossed much more. “People who hadn’t been to theatres in years came and saw the film,” adds Mansoor, who had to go into hiding after he received death threats from some extremists.

Following in the footsteps of KKL, two more Pakistani films are being released between April and May. After two decades in the distribution business, Indrajit Singh Bhatia is gearing up to release his first Pakistani movie. After releasing dozens of Hindi movies and Oscar-winning Hollywood flicks, Bhatia, who had also pitched to distribute KKL, is releasing Salaakhein (Urdu) and Mohabattan Sachiyan (Punjabi).

Bhatia’s Innovision will distribute two of Pakistan director Shehzad Rafique’s ventures. Both are on a revenue-sharing basis with the respective producers. “There is no ban on showing Pakistani films. And these are good movies. Salaakhein ran for 75 weeks in Pakistan and being an Urdu film, it has a good market in India,” says Bhatia, who plans to release 50 prints across UP, Delhi, Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Gujarat in single-screen and multiplex theatres.

So what is the market for Pakistani films? Is this, if at all, a threat to Indian cinema? Bhatia says there is a market, albeit a niche one, for a few chosen films. The other fact, of course, is that with annual production down to 25-30 films, there are just a handful to choose from anyway.

However, Bhatia says that if the movies he is releasing do a business of Rs 1 lakh per print, he would be a happy distributor even with the revenue-sharing. On the other hand, Singh is playing a conservative card with a 100-print run as he is sure of the potential of KKL.

“It is like a fantastic bottle of wine and we are being very selective about the theatres we release the film in as well as the shows. We want the film to speak for itself as the subject matter is unique and very well-told. The music is contemporary and it has the potential to open a great market,” says Singh, who has spent Rs 1.3 crore in marketing the film. He is confident of netting Rs 10-12 crore. PPC also holds the worldwide satellite rights for the movie.

Besides the unusual subject, the presence of Pakistani superstar Shaan is an added attraction. Shaan is the highest-paid actor in Pakistan. He charges Rs 8-10 lakh for movies and up to Rs 1 crore for brand endorsements. Praise for Shaan comes from all quarters—from Yash Chopra to Shyam Shroff and Singh. “He’s on par with your Aamir Khan, but he has not got the exposure,” says Mansoor.

Speaking to ET from Lahore, Shaan said besides KKL, the Punjabi commercial movies—most of which he features in—would be a perfect hit in India. “I feel films like Om Shanti Om do not reflect India at all. Whatever happened to Salim-Javed? There is a lot of copying from Hollywood as well. Much of it is crap and India does not need to copy such movies at all. Now is the time for Indian cinema to excel as pure cinema and for filmmakers to go beyond being mere money-makers,” he said.

KKL can be seen as an exception, being a critically-acclaimed movie. Mansoor recalls the ovation in Cairo and acknowledges that the Muslim population will definitely associate with the film as it depicts the problems and dilemmas of modern Muslims. It talks about the xenophobic tendencies of the world against Muslims in general, so Mansoor raises the voice of liberal Muslims caught between the fundamentalists and the irrational cynicism of the world after the 9/11 attacks in the US.

“I wanted to project the tragedy of a liberal Muslim, who is not considered a good Muslim within the faith because of his modern outlook. Outside his religion, however, he is labelled a fundamentalist just because he has a Muslim name,” says Mansoor.

While KKL may open the doors for the Pakistani film industry, the lack of infrastructure forbids the rest of the few films from finding a market outside their home territory.

Speaking to ET from Karachi, producer Rashid Khwaja laments: “Currently, we cannot leverage even the few films that we make and explore markets outside Pakistan because of a complete lack of infrastructure. In fact, in the present scenario, it is not viable to produce films.” Just a little over a decade ago, in 1995, Khwaja’s Yeh Dil Aap Ka Hua grossed as much as Rs 12 crore. Today, Khwaja and many other passionate film-makers are turning to TV.

“The critical factor is that between our three languages, the supply of Pakistani films has to increase,” says noted Pakistani director Syed Noor.

A beginning has been made and it has given both the countries’ film industries a ray of hope. For the Pakistani film industry, a huge dose of much-needed oxygen and for India, a hope to find support for a legitimate trek beyond the final frontier.