Cinematic heritage in Peshawar crumbles as theatres face extinction

The pre-partition era Naz Cinema, once a vibrant hub of film and cultural activity in Peshawar, has been demolished as shrinking audiences and the rise of digital streaming push traditional theatres toward extinction.

Established in 1936 as Rose Cinema by a Sikh entrepreneur, the iconic structure was among the oldest surviving picture houses in the city. Following the Partition in 1947, the original owner migrated to India, and Jawad Raza’s family acquired the cinema, its third-generation custodian, who later renamed it Naz Cinema.

For decades, the theatre stood as a cultural beacon in Peshawar. However, with the decline of cinema-going culture and mounting commercial pressures, the historic venue was recently razed to make way for a commercial market, signaling the end of yet another chapter in Peshawar’s vanishing cinematic heritage.

Speaking to Nukta, cinema manager Muhammad Naeem questioned the viability of running theatres in the current climate. “When films aren’t being produced, what purpose does a cinema serve?” he asked.

He lamented the lack of quality productions, the ban on Indian films, and the absence of audiences. “With power tariffs soaring and the cost of essentials doubling or even tripling, we can’t afford to run shows for just ten or twelve people,” he added.

Shakeel Khan, who runs a hotel opposite Naz Cinema, recalled a time when crowds would line up outside the cinema for tickets. “People would climb over each other just to get a ticket,” he said. “But now, the quality of Pashto films has declined so much that no one comes anymore. Now, your phone is the portable, personal, and always-on cinema."

A single screen cinema in Peshawar Nukta

Cinemas crumble, Markets rise: Capital Cinema meets the same fate

Capital Cinema in Saddar, like Naz Cinema, has also been demolished as plans for a commercial plaza take shape.

Irshad Ali, supervisor of Capital Cinema, told Nukta that the cinema, located on a 10-kanal plot, drew barely a dozen people per show. “With such a small audience, the cinema wasn’t sustainable,” he explained.

“Consequently, we decided to build a commercial plaza, possibly incorporating a small modern cinema”.

The lobby of a single screen cinema in Peshawar Nukta

Once home to more than 15 cinemas, Peshawar’s historic quarters now host only a handful of surviving picture houses. Today, just four cinemas—Sabrina, Aaina, Picture House, and Shama—continue to operate in the old city, located around Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khwani Bazaar, and Bacha Khan Chowk.

Once vibrant, the city’s cinematic past has witnessed the quiet demolition of iconic venues such as Palwasha, Shabistan, PAF, Falak Sair, Ishrat, Metro, Capital, Novelty, and Naz Cinema.

Rashid, a former projectionist, didn’t hold back. “It’s just as well the cinema shut down — there were no entertaining films anymore, it was just a waste of time,” he said.

“Now everything — films, songs, dramas — is available on a mobile phone. There’s no longer any need for the cinema,” he added.

A single screen cinema in Peshawar Nukta

The Golden Era of Pashto Films

The rise of Pashto cinema marked a turning point for local theatres. “There was a time when Indian, Pakistani, and English films were regularly screened,” Naeem recalled. “But with the advent of Pashto films, audiences and content shifted dramatically."

He pointed to 1976 as a defining year, when Orbal — one of the best Pashto films of legendary actor Badar Munir — was screened. “It drew massive crowds. The film was so popular, it ran for two years straight,” he said, describing it as the peak era of Pashto cinema in Peshawar.

Tariq Jamal, senior actor and vice chairman of the Artists Action Foundation, recalled a time when 20 to 25 Pashto films were produced each year — an era that featured prominent stars like Badar Munir, Naimat Sarhadi, and Asif Khan.

“Jehangir Khan, Arbaz Khan, and Shahid Khan have certainly made a name for themselves in the industry,” he noted, “but their audience consists primarily of working-class audiences—drivers, mechanics, and laborers.”

The demolished Naz Cinema in PeshawarNukta

Theatre culture erosion

Naeem recalled that the decline of cinema culture began around 2006, when the wave of terrorism peaked across the region. “It was in 2014 that two bomb blasts—one at Shama Cinema and another at Picture House—further accelerated the downfall,” he said. “After that, the cinema culture began to fade away completely.”

Naeem shared that an attempt was made to revive Naz Cinema by converting it to 3D in 2019; however, the effort failed to yield results. “First, the COVID-19 pandemic, and then there were hardly any notable Pashto films being produced,” he said. “Apart from actors like Shahid Khan, Arbaz Khan, and Jehangir Jani, no new talent emerged to draw audiences back to the theatres”.

Jamal, a veteran of nearly 100 Pashto films, believes actors are partly to blame for the industry's decline. “The films began promoting violence, guns, strange songs, and drug use,” he said.

Despite his extensive filmography, Jamal admitted he never enjoyed the films he acted in, nor did he ever go to the cinema to watch them. “People would smoke hash inside the theatre, the air was so thick with hash smoke, you could barely see the screen, let alone breathe,” he recalled.

A spectator in one of the last remaining single screen cinemas in PeshawarNukta

A Future in flux: Can Pashto cinema be revived?

Jamal shared that only two to three Pashto films are produced yearly. “Each film costs up to Rs. 7.5 million to make, but rarely recovers even Rs. 2 million, leaving producers millions in the red,” he said. “A filmmaker simply cannot afford to bear a loss of Rs. 5 million every time.”

According to Jamal, the revival of cinema culture is impossible unless society's educated segment is attracted to Pashto films. “For that to happen, we need to build modern cinemas like Cinepax in Islamabad,” he said. “And films must start addressing social issues—only then will audiences return to the theatres.”

Naeem also expressed concern that the few cinemas still operating may not survive for long, given the current state of the film industry. “If things continue this way, the remaining cinemas will also shut down soon,” he warned.

“We need to improve our scripts, acting, and cinema infrastructure—just like Indian and English films—otherwise, we risk watching our cinema legacy fade into oblivion,” he added.