Cinemas in Bangladesh, Pakistan squeezed by Bollywood

DHAKA/ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (Reuters) The traditional family trip to the local cinema has become little more than a nostalgic memory in Bangladesh and Pakistan, where locals prefer to stay home and watch banned Bollywood films on their television sets.

The fall from grace of local movie theatres, which are being converted into shopping malls both in Dhaka and Islamabad, are a testament to politics and piracy in the two traditional Muslim countries that border India from the east and the west.

India's Hindi-language films, many of them slickly produced song-and-dance extravaganzas, are wildly popular in Pakistan and Bangladesh where Hindi is easily understood.

But they have been banned from the big screen in both countries due to government concern that scenes of actresses being romanced by men and dancing in somewhat revealing costumes might permeate their Muslim cultures in which female modesty is prized and intermingling among the sexes is taboo.

''They (Indian films) simply go against our religion, culture and taste,'' said Abdur Rashid, a political scientist in Bangladesh.

''If we allow them to be watched freely then these films will pollute our society,'' he added.

India's Hindi-language film industry in Mumbai, widely known as Bollywood, churns out hundreds of blockbuster films a year which are wildly popular in India and in neighbouring countries where Bollywood stars are household names.

In contrast, the films made by the Bangladeshi and Pakistani movie industries and screened at local cinemas are seen as amateurish and dull compared to glamorous Bollywood.

THE BIG SCREEN The Kohsar cinema in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, is a lonely place. The city's last surviving movie theatre -- a cavernous 700-seat auditorium -- is virtually deserted.

''It's weird sitting here with just 11 people in such a big hall watching the movie,'' said Jahanzeb, a Pakistani driver who came to the cinema to watch a film with a friend on his day off.

Owner Mohammed Iqbal Mian is waiting for city hall approval to shut the Kohsar down and turn it into a shopping mall.

''It's like a white elephant for me. But since it's my property and I am not pressed for money, I'm allowing it to go on because it provides employment for my workers,'' he said.

In Dhaka, housewife Shiri Akhtar's childhood memories are filled with tragedy, comedy and drama from movies she grew up watching at her local movie cinema.

''I almost never missed any new film that came to town,'' said Akhtar, 35.

But these days, the few cinemas that still operate in Dhaka are largely empty of clientele except for shady characters drawn by illicit screenings of Western films late at night showing banned scenes of couples kissing.

''No one with good taste comes to cinema halls now. The young generation of Bangladeshis are increasingly turning to videos and satellite channels,'' said former cinema owner Abdul Halim.

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