Not a great place for business: Saim Sadiq | The Express Tribune

From becoming an international festival circuit darling to surviving censorship in Pakistan, Joyland has seen a lot for a young filmmaker’s directorial debut. In a recent interview with podcast host Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Saim Sadiq delved into the process of making and releasing the 2022 drama film.

Commenting on the economic constraints that undergird filmmaking in Pakistan, Saim offered, “There are less than 100 theaters working in Pakistan. It’s not a place for great business unless you make a Maula Jatt…but then you need to have the kind of resources that Maula Jatt did.” The director underlined the unpredictable nature of the industry and how even films starring big celebrities often fail to recover money. 

Saim added, “Even the big Humayun Saeed films don’t make a lot of money…A successful film is the one that recovers its money.” Pointing out the changing landscape of viewership, he drew a comparison between Kamli and Zindagi Tamasha, Sarmad Khoosat’s recent two releases, and how the former’s theatrical release did not ensure its popularity.

“Kamli released in theatres and Zindagi Tamasha did not. Zindagi Tamasha has been seen by, I don’t know, a hundred times more people than Kamli was seen by,” Saim contended. “And so that’s the fact…Times are changing faster than we can sort of wrap our heads around because of course there is still a fascination about having a theatrical release.”