Pakistani Cinema: Between the Domestic and the Regional

Despite the turbulent, changing, and troubled history of Pakistan since its inception as an independent state in 1947, its cinema has remained, for the most part, a model of unchanging stability. Exclusively rooted in the commercial and entertainment sphere of cultural production, it has evolved into a format that exhibits conventional, formulaic, and generic elements, which as Aijaz Gul (2000: 44) states, are manifested in "films of two-and-a-half to three hours, which combine six songs and dances with comedy, tragedy, action and romance."