Pakistan lifts ban on Bollywood movies

Islamabad:  Pakistani cinemas have lifted ban on Bollywood movies imposed after relations between New Delhi and Islamabad dipped to a new low following tensions on the border and terrorist attacks. The cinemas will start screening Indian movies from Monday, Dawn online reported. The managements of Pakistani cinemas on September 30 announced indefinite suspension of screening of all Bollywood movies as a protest against the ban of Pakistani artists in India. Pakistani artists were banned in India following an attack on an Army base in Uri town of Jammu and Kashmir. At least 19 soldiers were killed in the attack. Pakistani cinema owners on Saturday said they had only suspended the screening of Indian movies, but had not completely banned screening Bollywood content, Dawn online reported. According to the cinema owners, the movies which could not be screened due to the suspension of Indian content, will be screened first. "We lifted the suspension as a cinema guild. We took this decision to support them (Indian cinemas) and expect them to support us," said a cinema owner. The first movie to be screened will be actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's "Freaky Ali". The boycott was imposed after some Indian film-makers banned Pakistani actors from working in Bollywood films. Bollywood is popular in Pakistan, and the self-imposed suspension is reported to have led to a dramatic loss of revenue. Indian movies returned to Pakistani cinema houses in 2008 after a 43-year long hiatus after the ban was imposed during the 1965 war.