Cinema in Karachi

Cinema in Karachi or Kariwood (Urdu: کاری وڈ) had its golden days in 1960s when some of the prominent film studios were located in Karachi, making films for the viewership of a large and growing working-class population.

With a metropolitan area hosting South Asia's second most populated city, the film viewership is still popular in Karachi. However, the interest has shifted more towards the Hollywood and other international productions. One of the reasons for the shifting trends is attributed to the moving of film-making industry to Lahore, locally termed as Lollywood.

History of cinema in Karachi

Location of the oldest cinemas in Karachi, in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of the city. An open air cinema called Drive-In Cinema which was established in 1960s and functioned till late 1980s.

In 1960s and 1970s Karachi was the centre of the Pakistani film industry with a host of cinemas and film studios located in this city. Watching movies at the cinemas were major pastime and recreation activities. However, in 1980s two major changes came about:

• First, the film-industry moved to Lahore. Also there has been a notable growth of Pashto films industry in Peshawar.
• Second, the arrival of Videocassette recorder so that people could watch movies in the comfort of their homes.

These changes resulted in the closure of many movie theaters, and majority of them were converted into shopping malls or apartment blocks.

Revitalization

Amidst the growing concerns over the decline of the industry and viewership, and the need for revitalization, a number of initiatives have been taken at the cultural landscape of Karachi. Most effective of them all is the trend of the annual international Kara Film Festival since 2001.

• Pakistani drama and play industry:

due to the the boom of private channels like ARY,GEO,Ajj,hum andVibe many dramas and play are based in karachi and actors have their residence in affluent suburbs of karachi.since 2005 thousands of plays on television and on thatre have been produced.

Movie theatres in Karachi

There are numerous movie theaters in Karachi. Most of the cinema houses today present a variety of English, Pashto, Punjabi, and Urdu language films. Many of the cinemas built earlier than 1947 were called "Talkies" which was eventually dropped in favour of the word "Cinema". In 1917, there were around 119 cinemas in Karachi that has been reduced to just 34 in 2007^[1]. Moreover, 1977 is considered as a peak year of cinema industry in Karachi when 110 cinemas were running with full occupancy ^[2].

List of cinemas in Karachi

Cinema	Location	Status
Afshan	Waheed Murad Road	Open
Alif Laila	Saeedabad	Closed
Amber	Bahadrabad	Closed
Anjuman	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Arshi	Federal B. Area	Closed
Atrium Cinemas	Saddar	Open
Badar	Kemari	Closed
Bambino	Garden Road	Open
Capital	Saddar	Closed
Capri	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Open
Casino	Malir	Closed
Chamman	Pak Colony	Closed
Chandni	Sabzi Mandi	Closed
Cineplex 1	Clifton	Open
Cineplex 2	Clifton	Open
Crown	Lyari	Open
De Luxe	Maripur	Closed
Delight	Sher Shah	Open
Dilshad	SITE Town	Closed
Drive Inn 1	Stadium Road	Closed
Drive inn 2	Stadium Road	Closed
Empire Qismat	Mission Road	Closed
Eroz	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Falcon	Maripur	Closed
Filmistan	Teen Hatti	Closed
Firdous	Liaquatabad	Closed
Fleet Club	Saddar	Closed
Ghalib	Korangi	Open
Glaxy	Liaquatabad	Closed
Godin	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Gulistan	Landhi	Open
Gulshan	Malir	Closed
Gulzar	Malir	Closed
Hollywood	Bahadrabad	Closed
Irum	Liaquatabad	Closed
Jubilee	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Khayyam	Nursery	Closed
King	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Kiran	Manghopir	Open
Koh-e-Noor	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Kumar	Napier Road	Open
Lalazar	Qaidabad	Open
Liberty	Nazimabad	Closed
Light House	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Luxery	Airport	Closed
Lyric	Garden Road	Closed
Lyric 2	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Mayfair	Saddar	Closed
Majestic	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Masood	Korangi	Closed
Mehar	Landhi	Closed
Mehfil	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Mehtab	Landhi	Open
Metro	Orangi	Open
Mizrab	Liaquatabad	Closed
Murree Drive Inn	Rashid Minhas Road	Closed
Musarrat	Nazimabad	Open
Nafees	Malir	Closed
Nageena	Kemari	Closed
Nargis	Qaidabad	Open
Naseem	Korangi	Open
Nasheman	Waheed Murad Road	Open
Nasreen	Korangi	Open
Nayab	Nazimabad	Closed
Naz	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Nering	Liaquatabad	Closed
Nigar	Juna Market	Open
Nishat	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Open
Noor Mehal	Napier Road	Closed
Novelty	Teen Hatti	Closed
Odeon	Saddar	Closed
Opera	Federal B. Area	Closed
P.A.F.	Drigh Road	Closed
P.N.S. Bahadur	?	Closed
P.N.S. Dakiar	?	Closed
P.N.S. Dilawar	?	Closed
P.N.S. Hamaliya	?	Closed
P.N.S. Karsaz	?	Closed
P.N.S. Shafa	?	Closed
Palace	Saddar	Closed
Paradise	Saddar	Closed
Piccadilly	Malir Cantt	Closed
Picture House	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Plaza	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Prince	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Open
Princess	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Qaisar	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Queen	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Raj Mehal	Sher Shah	Open
Rang Mehal	Sher Shah	Open
Reagle	Saddar	Closed
Regent	Nazimabad	Closed
Relex	Nazimabad	Closed
Renu	Garden Road	Open again in 2008
Reu	Saddar	Closed
Rex	Saddar	Closed
Ritz	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Rivoli	Waheed Murad Road	Closed
Roxy	Napier Road	Open
Rubi	Saeedabad	Closed
Saba	New Karachi	Open
Sanam	Malir	Closed
Sangam	Drigh Road	Open
Sangeet	Korangi	Closed
Scala	Garden Road	Closed
Shabana	Malir	Closed
Shabnam	Drigh Road	Open
Shalimar	Nazimabad	Closed
Shama	Drigh Road	Closed
Sheesh Mehal	Landhi	Open
Shehzad	Korangi	Open
Shirin	Korangi	Closed
Shirin	New Karachi	Open
Society	Lasbela	Closed
Star	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Super	Napier Road	Closed
Taj Mehal	Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road	Closed
Tasvir Mehal	Korangi	Open
Venus	Liaquatabad	Open
Zeenat	Korangi	Open

References

1. ^ History of Cinema Houses in Karachi
2. ^ Some facts about Karachi Cinemas

See also

• Cinema of Pakistan
• List of Pakistani films
• List of Lollywood films
• List of Pakistani actors & actresses

External links

• List of cinemas in Karachi