Exclusive interview with Cinepax Chief Executive Officer Hashim Raza
Cinepax, a company investing in the cinema industry in Pakistan, has given a new life to Pakistan’s Cinema industry which had been forgotten by the young and educated people especially in cities like Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad as well as other major cities of the country.
“It became possible when Punjab and Sindh governments abolished 65 per cent ‘entertainment tax’ for newcomers like Cinepax, due to which the industry is growing rapidly in both provinces,” said Cinepax Chief Executive Officer Hashim Raza.
In an exclusive interview with Pakistan Today, he said the government got rid of the entertainment tax in 2009. Since then, there has been a massive growth in the cinema industry. He said there is no entertainment tax on cinemas including Cinepax in Punjab, while the Sindh government has fixed a tax at the rate of Rs 2,000 per day on a screen, Hashim Raza said.
The Cinepax has so far invested $60 million in the Cinema industry in the two provinces, setting up 22 screens with a capacity of 40 to 650 seats in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Murree while 47 of their screens are being built in Punjab and Sindh. “Our plan is to fix around 150 modern screens in both the provinces including Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Gujrat and other small cities,” he said.
Raza said, “For now, the Cinepax has no intention of investing in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhunkhwa, but after completion of screens in Sindh and Punjab, it may consider for further investment in other provinces.”
Pakistan’s old cinema industry occupancy rate is 30 per cent, but the Cinepax’s cinemas occupancy is almost 50 per cent, he said adding that the occupancy rate for cinema industry around the world is about 20 per cent.
We chose the cinema industry for investment and entered this market when most of the cinema owners had shut down their cinema businesses in Karachi and Lahore and built multi-stories buildings or shopping centers on the land of cinemas mainly because of the tax levied by the federal and provincial governments.
“We have struggled hard and negotiated with the governments for the abolishment of this entertainment tax and other taxes for the revival of the cinema industry,” he said, and added, “In this connection we are holding meetings with the prime minister and chief ministers regularly on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Some new investors are also looking forward to setting up new cinemas in Karachi, Lahore and other parts of the provinces as now they think that they can make money after abolishment of these taxes, he said.
Because of the Cinepax’s investment in the cinema industry, he said that the standard of filmmaking has also improved and new investors have signed 43 new films which will be released in 2017-18.
“From empty cinema halls showing sub-standard films to packed houses featuring a diverse lineup of local films in 2015, the film industry has surely grown – perhaps not by leaps and bounds, but significantly enough,” Raza said. “The year 2016 is expected to be yet another year full of cinematic milestones, as approximately 30 films are likely to see the light of day with each one of them promising to be unique in content – from contemporary biopics and war epics to rib-tickling comedies and political satires –sky is the limit for this new breed of cinema enthusiasts,” he added.
“Overall box office figures in the country went up by 28 per cent in 2015 as compared to 2014 and even though local films account for less than 3 per cent of the total, this figure is only expected to grow,” he added.
In fact, this year’s first official release, Jawani Phir Nahi Aani, has already made it to the list of top five highest grossing films in the history of Pakistani cinema which the people really liked. This film had a budget of Rs 80 million, but it earned record money of approximately Rs 500 million.
Replying to a question, he said that first time investors are now looking to them for the investment and that they are trying to develop a culture for film investors.
“The investors and the Cinepax share the profit at a ratio of 50-50 or 40-60 of seats which is acceptable internationally and now they are happy making films. ”
Many Lollywood hard-liners blame the influx of Bollywood films for low revenues, calling for a complete ban, when in fact it is Bollywood that has given Pakistani cinemas a new lease on life, he said.
The government must recognise the Pakistani film industry as an economic driver, he said adding, “The government should allow every country to display their movies in Pakistan and this kind of decision will help in revenue generation and then we can stop those Indian filmmakers, who are making films against Pakistan and the Pak Army. If we generate Rs 100 billion of business in the film industry, the Indian filmmakers will never think to lose such a big amount if they make films against Pakistan.”
He said that they are also providing projectors to the owners of the old cinemas whose cinemas were not in working condition because of financial problems. This kind of support has also encouraged the owners and some of the cinemas have become operational before this Eid, he said.
About 20 to 30 new screens are expected to open in 2016. Very notable, however, is the fact that most of these screens are part of multiplexes that have a higher ticket price, he said.
Following the footsteps of Atrium Cinemas, Cinepax has also introduced a convenient system to reserve tickets over the phone. They also plan to start online bookings soon. With three different classes of cinema halls – platinum, gold and silver – the most expensive ticket is Rs 1,000 and the least expensive is Rs 350.
“It is a small effort towards the revival of the Pakistani film industry” said Cinepax CEO Hashim Raza.
“We promise to entertain families by screening both classic and modern movies,” Raza said.
“Pakistani filmmakers will no longer go to neighbouring countries to promote their films as the opportunity to screen their films with modern equipment is now available right here.” Cinepax will be screening both Indian and English movies at the same time.
“We can compete with cinemas around the world with our state-of-the-art seats and the facilities we are providing to our viewers,” he said.
