Lollywood Tales

This episode explores what sort of movies were shown in Lahore in the 1920s. Most were American/Hollywood pictures. But Indian movies were more popular.

This episode is in two parts. The first traces the emergence of the movie culture in Lahore and focuses on the growth of cinema halls in the city.

Lahore is a city with an ancient pedigree. It's history goes back to the very beginnings of Hindu India. But when the British took control of Punjab in 1849 the city was mostly in ruins and long past its glory days.  Over the next 100 years the British transformed Lahore into one of the most important and culturally dynamic and vibrant places in India. The perfect place for new ideas and technologies to take off--the movie making.

Punjab is home to one of the most dynamic, diverse and ancient cultural traditions in South Asia. And it is this rich cultural heritage of stories, music and drama that gave rise to the film industry in Lahore. 

How the Parsi community, refugees from Zoroastrian Persia, landed up in India and went on to become a major force in the development of early South Asian film industry.

How two botanical products fueled the rise of Bombay and allowed it to become, eventually, South Asia's main film producing city. 

Even though the men who invented the movie camera and the first films didn't believe it had any commercial future, they sent a Frenchman to Australia--via Bombay--to show their new magical toy.   By the time the Frenchman left--several weeks later--India was changed for ever.In this episode we look at how and when movies first were exhibited in India and introduce you to some of the early adopters who played a pivotal role in establishing cinema in South Asia.

The Partition of British India in August 1947 that created the new country of Pakistan seemed to signal the end of the movie making dream for the city of Lahore.    For the city's biggest film mogul, Roop Kishore Shorey, the events of that summer were almost too much to bear.

Join me for a unique history podcast that traces the fascinating, untold story of Pakistani movie industry based in and around the city of Lahore.