The Globalization of Pakistani Cinema: Trends in Commercial Film Production

Abstract

This paper examines how globalization has affected the development of Pakistani cinema, especially on the production of commercial films. The Pakistani film industry has undergone a dramatic revival in the last ten years characterized by the introduction of international cinematic trends, technology, and use of digital streaming services. As a research method, a quantitative approach was adopted, where data were gathered by way of a sample consisting of 450 respondents using a structured questionnaire administered via Google Forms. The respondents were practitioners, academics, students, and the general audiences associated with the film industry, giving different views on the effect of globalization. The results reveal that globalization has significantly affected Pakistani film, especially in the form of quality of productions, diversity in storytells, global partnerships and competitiveness in the market. Respondents pointed to the strong narratives, cultural authenticity, and storytelling as the most important characteristics to commercial success, although the increasing importance of commercialization, foreign technology, and international co-productions were also recognized. The preferences of the audiences were towards a heavy use of streaming services, highlighting the impact of the digital globalization and the viewing of the industry by the diasporas that help broaden the scope of the industry worldwide. Although there have been such positive developments, several challenges, which were found to be a continuous hindrance to progress, include a lack of infrastructure, piracy, the lack of support in certain policies, and the threat of cultural dilution. The paper comes up with the conclusion that globalization gives both opportunities and threats to the Pakistani cinema. It suggests a balanced approach to global and local identity, further cooperation with streamers, favorable policies, and content development as the tools that help to stay sustainable and competitive at the global scale.