"bring your own original thinking"
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the country’s filmmakers to focus on creating original content instead of copying Bollywood.
Khan made the statement at a short film festival in Islamabad.
He said that mistakes were made at the beginning as the Pakistani film industry was “influenced” by Bollywood.
This resulted in a culture that continued to copy and adopt another country’s culture.
Khan said: “So the most important thing I want to say to young filmmakers is that according to my experience of the world, only originality sells – the copy has no value.”
He emphasised the importance of original content, urging the Pakistani film industry to come up with new ways of thinking.
Referring to the influence of Hollywood and Bollywood within Pakistani popular culture, Imran Khan said that people in Pakistan apparently do not watch local content unless it has a commercial spin.
He added: “So my (advice) to young filmmakers is to bring your own original thinking and don’t fear failure.
“It is my life’s experience that the one who is afraid of defeat can never win.”
Imran Khan’s statement comes amid Pakistan’s intention to revise its perception to the world.
On how Pakistan’s “image” is perceived to the world, Khan said it is misrepresented as “soft” due to a sense of inferiority and defensiveness.
This goes back to the ‘war on terror’.
He said:
“The world respects those who respect themselves.”
Khan added that Pakistaniyat should be promoted.
Imran Khan was previously criticised for his remarks on the rise of sexual violence in which he blamed women.
He made the comments during an interview with Axios HBO, defending similar remarks he made in April 2021.
Speaking to Jonathan Swan, Khan said:
“If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots. It’s just common sense.”
Khan went on to say that it leads to “temptation” among men.
He continued: “I said the concept of ‘purdah’.
“The concept of ‘purdah’ is to avoid temptation in society.
“We don’t have discos here, we don’t have nightclubs. It is a completely different society way of life here.
“So if you raise temptation in society to the point – all these young guys have nowhere to go – it has consequences in the society.”
Mr Swan asked: “Yes but is it really going to provoke acts of sexual violence?”
Khan replied: “It depends what society you live in. If in a society people haven’t seen that sort of thing, it will have an impact on them.
“If you grow up in a society like you, maybe it won’t on you.”
Referring to Western culture, he added: “This is cultural imperialism.
“Whatever is acceptable in our culture, must be acceptable everywhere else. It’s not.”
Imran Khan’s comments sparked controversy online.
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