Pakistanis, irrespective of political tensions, have always enjoyed Bollywood movies. Be it action, comedy or romance, Bollywood always served something extra for its lovers across the border. In fact, in 2018 Bollywood films earned a total of 2 billion PKR at Pakistani box office.
However, after the Balakot air strike in February 2019, Pakistan completely banned Indian movies and other television content. This resulted in a fall in Pakistan’s economy, as more than 60 percent of the revenue of our theaters used to come from Bollywood.
However, the one who actually faced a bigger loss was of course, Bollywood.
A Massive Decline
Following the ban on Indian films, Bollywood saw a massive decline in overseas revenue in 2019. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?
In 2018, Bollywood made a total of $ 125 million, out of which more than $ 15 million came from Pakistan. For quite some time, the ‘Khans’ have disappointed the public with their films, hence they could not live up to expectations at the box office.
It was films like Sanju and Padmaavat that actually made it big and gave rise to a new wave. Pakistanis too came out in droves to watch these flicks in cinemas.
In 2019, Bollywood films had a potential of earning at least $18 million from Pakistan, and if all major films lived up to the mark, it could have earned a straight $ 20 million at the box office.
As we now know, political and military tensions between the two neighbors led to a fall of around 30%, and Bollywood only collected $ 82 million from overseas.
ALSO READ
Pakistan Bans Bollywood Movies As Tensions Rise Over Kashmir
This means that Bollywood could have made a huge impact on Pakistani cinemas the past year, even without the ‘Khans’.
And in 2019 too, they could have hit gross numbers exceeding $ 100 million, but due to the ban they couldn’t even reach the coveted milestone.
That being said, there are even bigger Indian projects lined up for 2020 and if the ban stays, Bollywood could end up losing bigger numbers.
ALSO READ
Imran Khan Blames Hollywood & Bollywood For Rising Divorce Rate
It’s about time foreign Pakistani’s realised that supporting Indian movies only supported a country that openly terrorises it’s Muslim communities, especially those in Kashmir.
India have never allowed Pakistani movies to run in their cinemas.. Even though Pak release about 20 movies per year on average.
For a country that produces 500-600 movies per year , it’s pathetic that it fears it’s neighbor .