In this post, I'll talk about the Normalities of the whole cinema. Things that are so normalized, you will find in most of the movies throughout the industry. If you go for a single filmmaker or genre, you will find plenty, but when it comes to the whole industry, the number gets very low.
I was going to do Tropes and Norms first, but then I could not find enough tropes, other than Dead Father leaving the burden of several siblings on a Young Son.
I also knowingly did not add "Barrak" to the list because it is specific to Punjabi Movies.
Truth Be Told, I just made this post so I can talk about the music and I won't even shy away from that fact.
I managed to pick up 3 Norms, that I'll talk about in this post.
1- The Songs
If you see a Pakistani Movie, there is a 99 percent chance that you will hear at least one song playing, unless, of course, it is an "art film".
I don't even have a slight doubt when I say Pakistan has the best talent in the entire world when it comes to Music. We have so much talent that we tend to even export some of it around the neighborhood.
It all started when talkies came to the subcontinent, with Alam Ara. The songs also came along, mostly because the music is ingrained in our soil, it was part of our culture, so much so that not having songs and music in our movies would have been a disrespect on its own.
From Rasheed Attre to Robin Ghosh to Mehdi Hasan to Malika-e-Tarranum Noor Jehan, Pakistan has given so many Legendary Musical Personalities in the past and the land is still Fertile, with Legends like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Faisal Kapadia, Sajjad Ali, Hadiqa Kiani and so many more (If I go on writing names of every Musical Maestro, the word limit will exceed and I'll still be left with a lot of names).
There was a long time when Films would work just on the fact that Noor Jehan sang in them, or Rashid Attre gave Music to them.
So, Yes, the Songs were, and still are a core part of Pakistani Movies.
2- The Comedy Sideplot
Usually, in Drama movies, there is always this side plot that goes on alongside the actual plot to relieve the tension of the audience, the portion is solely carried out by comedians. Likes of Munawar Zarif, Lehri, Nirala, Umer Sharif, Nazar and so many more used to lighten the audience up with their comedy. These acts were added mainly because the audience was very familiar with good theater and would cheer on better punches.
This trend started with the dawn of Pakistani cinema and goes on til now. It all started with Noor Mohammad Charlie, who was not only the first to do it but also the first to get songs dedicated to his act in movies, he'd go on to influence generations to come.
3- The Hopeful Ending
In Pakistani Cinema, most movies have a hopeful or a Positive ending. Villain dies, Lovers meet, Bad gets schooled and then redemption, and the oppressed are provided Justice, even when the opposite ending makes more sense.
The pattern is to flip everything towards the end into making a rather positive finale. For Example, take Aaina, the movie sets up a very great separation arc but towards the end, they flip it completely to give a reunion arc.
Movies with an ending that would not normally be considered hopeful or positive are mostly considered offbeat movies.
(This post is part of 8 parts series, 2/8)
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Thanks for Reading
By @cinemaa.wiz
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