First 24-hours Lollywood channel
We have had a number of TV channels such as Set Max, Zee Cinema, Star Gold and B4U movies, which served as big-time Bollywood satellite engines, not to mention hordes of Hollywood-based channels like HBO, Star Movies, AXN and the MM network; never an official, out-and-out Lollywood channel. Besides, common belief has mostly warned aspiring parties against any such endeavour. Filmazia hopes to change that perception.
Tipped to be the first Lollywood-based TV channel ever, Filmazia takes upon itself "the task of reviving the film industry's lost glory," to quote Rukhsana Noor, renowned writer and poet, and the due-soon channel's Director Productions.
Officially being launched on December 25, 2004, Filmazia is a 24-hour channel which will telecast films and songs, together with magazine shows, Box Office ratings, discussion programmes, public opinion, all based on Lollywood, of course.
The channel is the brainchild of the Sharjah-based group called Media Dimensions, comprising mostly Pakistani expatriats, and known for being the pioneers in the distribution of international satellite channels on cable TV in the country.
Talking exclusively to The Nation Plus, Qaisar Ullah Khan, Vice President, Filmazia, said that when the group and their partners set out to start their own satellite channel, they thought of making it news-based. "Later, we decided to do something unique. Hence a complete Lollywood channel."
The very first problem that they had to face was acquiring good quality software. "This seemed quite impossible at the beginning," commented Qaisar Ullah, "Since we were also dealing with film archives, we started at the very bottom, getting the negatives washed all over again, converting them into the digital format, employing frame-by-frame colour correction and Tele-cine, enhancing the picture as well as the sound. This in itself was a mammoth task."
In reply to a query, Qaisar Ullah Khan said that the channel idea had got a mixed response from the film industry, "Not many people seemed to be in favour of it. A lot of them thought a channel like this would further destroy the masses' theatre-going habits. Yet a handful of them behaved completely indifferently, except for Syed Noor who was the single most helpful person throughout.
"We had to reassure the Film Association that Filmazia would actually serve to support Lollywood and provide a platform to showcase its talent.
"Look at India. All Bollywood-based channels have provided a big boost to the industry, which is a thriving industry today," he said.
Earlier, talking about the censor policy of the channel, Rukhsana Noor said, "If you compare with the state-owned TV network, our policy is definitely different, but the channel will have to see that nothing that should offend the common man's sensibilities."
Outlining the format of the channel programmes, she said, "We have slotted the films into Action, Comedy, Musicals, Classics, and B/W, which will be shown on separate days of a week."
