Lollywood
Lollywood (Punjabi and Urdu: لالی وُڈ lâli vuḍ) refers to the Pakistani Urdu and Punjabi-language[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] film industry based in Lahore.[11] Since the partition of India in 1947, Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema, with films being produced both in Urdu and Punjabi. The word "Lollywood" is a portmanteau of "Lahore" and "Hollywood", coined in 1989 by Glamour magazine gossip columnist Saleem Nasir, and is usually used comparatively with respect to other industries in South Asian cinema, such as Tollywood and Bollywood.
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Prior to 2007, Lahore was the most prolific producer of Urdu films, before being largely overtaken by Karachi.
Etymology
"Lollywood" is a portmanteau derived from Lahore and "Hollywood", a shorthand reference for the American film industry, Hollywood.
History
Prior to the 1947 partition of India into the Republic of India and Pakistan, the Lahore film industry was initially part of the British Raj era cinema of India. The Bombay cinema industry (now known as Hindi cinema or "Bollywood" in modern India) was closely linked to the Lahore film industry, as both produced films in the Hindustani language, also known as Hindi-Urdu, the lingua franca of northern and central British India.[12] Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand as well as playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Noorjahan and Shamshad Begum.[13] After the 1947 partition and the foundation of Pakistan, the Lahore film industry transitioned to becoming the centre of the new Pakistani cinema.
Films
Lollywood films in Punjabi were most popular in the 1960s and are often referred to as the golden age of Pakistani Punjabi cinema.[14]
Casts and crews
See also
References
- "Have Urdu films taken over Lollywood? Insiders weigh in". The Express Tribune. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Severed limbs and rivers of blood: The film that inspired Fawad Khan's 'The Legend of Maula Jatt'". Scroll.in. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Ejaz Durrani — Lollywood's favourite Ranjha". Dawn. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "The Last of Pakistan's Cinema Artists". Vice. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Goonda raj". The Express Tribune. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
The real-life characters behind the goonda and gandasa era of Lollywood... The scene is from the 1979 Lollywood film Wehshi Gujjar. On the face of it, to any modern critic of the Punjabi film industry, the story follows the ‘tried-and-tested’ Punjabi film formula: honour, bharaks (grandiose boasting), machismo and violence.
- "18th death anniversary of Ahmad Rahi observed". The Express Tribune. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Lollywood music special: Pakistani star Sultan Rahi like never before in 'Jasoos'". Scroll.in. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
Though from an Urdu-speaking Indian immigrant background, Rahi did most of his acting in Punjabi films. Indeed, the whole genre of so-called gandasa (long-handled axe) movies, which has dominated Punjabi filmdom since the late ‘70s, is built almost entirely upon the face and voice of Sultan Rahi.
- "Sound of Lollywood: Listen to Noor Jehan letting it rip in Punjabi". Scroll.in. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Bilal Lashari's next project: A multi-million dollar remake of Maula Jatt". The Express Tribune. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Evernew Studios — a picture of the film industry's decline". Dawn. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
“I vividly remember the golden days of Lollywood. There were film shoots, big stars like Nisho, Neelo, Neeli, Sultan Rahi coming in and going all day and night. And then came the era of Shaan, who made a number of Punjabi films here. There was a bond of trust among stars in those days no matter how big they were. Even if there were tiffs they were resolved there and then.”
- "If you thought Lollywood was booming, let 2016 remind you why it's not".
- Ghosh, Partha S. (2016). Migrants, Refugees and the Stateless in South Asia. SAGE Publications. p. 263. ISBN 9789351508557.
- Raju, Zakir Hossain (2014). Bangladesh Cinema and National Identity: In Search of the Modern?. Routledge. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-317-60181-4.
- Awan, M. Saeed (6 July 2014). "Cinemascope: Pulling the plug on Punjabi films". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
Bibliography
- South Asian Media Cultures: Audiences, Representations, Contexts. United Kingdom, Anthem Press, 2011.