Indian films are threat to Pakistani cinema: Khalid Ahmed

Veteran Pakistani actor-director Khalid Ahmed, whose romantic drama film "Laloolal.com" was screened at the 7th Jagran Film Festival on Saturday, said that Pakistani films are currently not in a state to compete with Indian films, which he feels are a "threat" to them.

During a panel discussion titled "Cinema Beyond Borders", Ahmed, accompanied by Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar and prominent Indian directors Sudhir Mishra and Bejoy Nambiar, also talked about how cinema from both India and Pakistan can help bridge the cultural gap between the two nations.

Ahmed said that he feels happy to see Indian films getting screened in Pakistan but complained why their films are not showcased in India.

"We (Pakistani artistes) have this compliant that when most of the Indian films get released in Pakistan, why our films don't work here. Indian films are actually a threat to our films because there level is way beyond ours," said Ahmed, who is uncle of Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali.

"Films made in Pakistan mostly have budget of around five to six crore Pakistani rupees. That is our scale. But Indian films are made on a budget of 70 crore or 100 crore Indian rupees, which is way more in Pakistani terms. So, there is no comparison between the two in terms of its scale. Our films can never be a threat to Indian films."

"I really don't know why our films are not shown in India. May be it's because our films can't be economically feasible here," he added.

"Laloolal.com" stars Pakistani actors Faisal Qureshi and Natasha Portess in the lead.

The seventh edition of the Jagran Film Festival, which kick-started on Saturday will screen over 400 films this year in 16 cities. The five-day Delhi leg of the festival will end on July 5.