Abstract

With an increase in focus on globalization, the cinema industry is also facing pressure from its audience to bring in transnationalism in their contents. Transnationalism in cinema gives diversity of experience resulting in better quality movies and increased viewership. Movies around the globe are adopting transnationalism while in Pakistan it is considered a comparatively new idea. This study has tried to make sense of the presence of transnational trends in Pakistani cinema with an emphasis on three variables, (namely, foreign talent, foreign location, and obscenity). Talent from different nationalities can bring in diverse experience on the screen and behind the lens. Similarly, the selection of multination locations also brings in more interest of viewers and obscenity, though it is a very abstract idea, also attracts viewers with different social and cultural backgrounds. A total of 12 Pakistani movies were selected and content analysis was conducted to look for the presence of foreign talent, location and obscenity resulting in transnationalism. A monitored and controlled data analysis of conveniently sampled movies has been provided along with possible reasons of the existence of these transnational trends. The conclusion of our findings and possible recommendations are also added which emphasize that cultural whitewash should be avoided in the name of transnational trends.

Key Words

Transnationalism, Pakistani Cinema, Talent, Location, Obscenity

Introduction

Cinema is defined as the art or technique of making motion pictures (Deleuze, 2020). There are various types of Cinemas, including Feature films, short films, Animated films, Film adaptations, Historical films, Biographical films, Silent films and Documentary films Or to analyze by another angle, we can say that Cinema basically can be commercial or non-commercial based on benefit one wants to gain through it (Geller, 2020). Commercial filming means a production intended to generate revenue or promote a for-profit product or service (Naz & Mehmood, 2017). To earn maximum benefit, the director/producer of the film try to go according to the trends emerging in society and in this process, they also change the trends for one or the other reason. 

These trends can be national or transnational. The focus of national trends and services is to explore and address national issues affecting various communities, by empowering people for transforming communities (Shields, 2022). On the other hand, according to Xiang (2022), transnationalism is the economic, political, and cultural developments that expand ahead of the limitations of nation-states causing traditional territorial controls becoming less relevant. The cinemas are having both options, to go by national trends by retaining their local audience or to follow the transnational trend to have a diversified audience and topics.

Pakistan, being a country with a rich heritage and diversified cultures tends to still accept new trends, not only due to diversified population but also as a country of people, who want to visit the world to explore various other cultures and traditions (Shedayi, 2022).  Therefore, transnational trends are very easily accepted in their language, dress, mode of living, pottery, and architecture. Hence, transnational trends in the commercial cinema of Pakistan cannot be out of the question. 

According to the research studies, films and cinemas that rise above national borderlines and/or style their narrative and esthetic approaches in connection with two or more national as well as cultural convention or society come in the category of transnational cinema (Peberdy, 2014). Transnational Cinema can also be defined as the global influences that connect people or institutions across national boundaries through cinema (Shaw, 2013). This collection aims to go beyond the term's largest economic and sociopolitical roots to demonstrate its importance as a conceptual tool in the field of film studies as it develops. Cinema's inability to grant a defined national identity represents the breakdown of any stable links between a film's place of production or setting and the nationality of its creators and performers to the viewers and audience of its screening (Bergfelder, 2005). Transnational cinema is a growing term in film studies that incorporates a variety of hypotheses about the implications of globalization on the cultural and economic elements of the film (Shaw, 2013). It includes, among other things, the debates and influences of post nationalism, postcolonialism, consumerism, and Third Cinema. Transnational cinema discussions examine the emergence and subsequent impact of films, theatres, and directors that cross national borderlines.

The need for transnational trends emerge within the requirement that the poor should "learn and advocate for the oppressed" (Easthope, 2014). Speaking from privilege for minority populations deepens their marginalization. Transnational films must fulfill these requirements to present true stories. Transnational cinema can establish a global community, but only if it goes beyond Western vs. "Other" (Shedayi, 2022). Transnationalism in cinema also involves foreign talents and foreign locations in the movies. Because in transnational movies, talent and location could be from more than one country so for host country, the talent from other countries will be categorized as foreign talent. Similarly, the location of film shooting has also its own importance and value. The shooting of transnational movies is also potentially conducted in more than one country.

As long as the factors causing such transnational changes in Pakistani commercial cinema are concerned, we need to go back to the era of the Afghan Crisis. Since cultural values differ among countries and regions and same goes for the values and definition of important social terms i.e., nudity. Transnationalism in cinemas also raised the issue of nudity in movies. For one society, definition and context of nudity could be different as compared to the other society (Fortenberry & Hensel, 2022). Moreover, the form of visual nudity existed even when media and cinema were under the process of Islamization in Zia's era (Shah, Waris & Basit, 2016). 

The filmmakers of Pashto Cinema played very tactfully to sell their Cinema by incorporating soft-core pornography into their films with the help of politicians in that time. Peshawar and Karachi were the epicenters of Afghan refugees and because they could not watch such content in their country increased the viewership of Pashto Cinema in Pakistan. Pashto Afghan refugees who migrated to Pakistan to find a better job and living were the main audience of Pashto Cinema, so nudity became the main factor in Pashto movies to make money in the market and to bring audiences to cinema houses.

In this research, our effort will be to acknowledge the influence of transnational themes in Pakistani Cinema, classify their defining variables by theoretical knowledge, recommend policy guidelines for the future, and omit undesirable aspects of transnational cinema leaking into the Pakistani filmmaking industry. One such theory that we aim to explore is the Auteur's theory, the theory of filmmaking in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture. Arising in France in the late 1940s, the Auteur theory was dubbed by the American film critic Andrew Sarris (Parveen, Tariq & Siddiqui, 2015). This theory will be utilized in this research to carry out observation of the creative mindset of directors behind integrating transnational concepts in Pakistani Cinema. 

This current investigation is intended to examine movies from local cinema to identify the pace and tendency of transnational trends by mainly objectifying the frequency of cinematic transnational trends in the commercial cinema of Pakistan as well as factors influencing domestic filmmakers to consider and incorporate transnational cinematic trends in national commercial cinema.

Literature Review

Transnationalism

Transnationalism is the spread and expansion of social, political, and economic activities between and outside of nation-states' territorial sovereignty (Shedayi, 2022). The major topics covered by transnational studies include economic globalization, the trans nationalization of the state, classes, political processes, and culture, as well as the current integration processes taking place around the world through formal organizations like NAFTA and the European Union. According to Naz & Mehmood (2017) just as "social structure is becoming trans nationalized; an epistemic shift is required in concurrence with this ontological shift". When conducting research, a transnational viewpoint entails changing the focus from individual nations to the global system. It was further found that the investigation of "transnational social structure" is the primary focus of sociology's contribution to transnational studies (Lim, 2019). 

It really has developed domains of international relations. According to (Chaudhry, Shehza & Mohyuddin, 2014), transnationalism in cinemas has an impact on many facets of film making, such as changes entails in film cast, location, and content of movies. Existing social movements and civil society organizations as well as recently emerging ones may give rise to trans-nationalization in cinemas and the Pakistan film industry is also adopting trans-nationalization recently. 




Pakistani Film Industry - Lollywood

Pakistan's film industry called Lollywood, after Bollywood and Hollywood made the bulk of films in Urdu and regional languages (Iqbal, Sadiq & Nasir, 2022). Pakistan's filmmaking centers were Dhaka, Karachi, and Lahore until 1971. After Dhaka fell, one of its key production hubs was moved to Lahore. During the 1980s martial law administration Pakistani cinema lost its luster due to the Islamaization implementations of the Government (Khan, 2022).

With the passage of time, in the 21st century, Pakistan's film industry is thriving (Iqbal, Sadiq & Nasir, 2022). New filmmakers emerged with fresh ideas. The downfall and revival of the film industry in Pakistan is based on several elements which can bring in or hinder the intended results. For example, the film director visualizes the screenplay and assigns duties to the crew to achieve the intended results. The director must compare performance to the plan. A film director uses performers, production design, and artistic concerns. In this scenario, famous filmmaker Agha Hasan Askari blames the lack of funds and incompetent cast and crew for the Pakistani film industry's downfall. He further added that, in comparison to the past, today's people are professionals. Well-trained directors, staff, and actors have helped the Pakistani film industry succeed. Leading actors of the Pakistani film industry Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali say the director examines the actor's suitability for the role or plot (Naz & Mehmood, 2017).

The revival of Pakistani cinema started from 2000 onward (Iqbal, Sadiq & Nasir, 2022). Fror example the movie “Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa” earned 200 million rupees in Pakistan in July 2002. Investors were interested in Pakistani cinema after a long period of disinterest. Pakistani cinema, which had produced over 100 feature films per year, could barely output 40 per year by 2000, with only ver few hits just like “Larki Panjaban” and “Salakhain”, starring Ahmed Butt, was another success that briefly resurrected production firms in Lahore and Karachi. Although, in terms of the number of movies, the output was down but young talent gave Lollywood a fresh start in the 21st century (Raju, 2022).

Geo Films, a subsidiary of Geo TV, invested in "Revival of Pakistani Cinema" after the government declined. Geo Films released “Khuda Ke Liye” which was the first Pakistani film to be released simultaneously in India and Pakistan (Rasheed, 2022). The picture revolutionized Hindustan's film history by being played in 100 theaters in 20 locations. "Khuda Ke Liye's” flaming issue, which highlighted the socio-political issues faced by the Muslim community due to the arrival of extremist groups in Islamic nations, became an overnight sensation (In India, the Pakistani film “Khuda Ke Liye” was released in 2004). Omar Ali Khan's first film, “Zibah khana” or “Hell's Ground”, was presented at film festivals around the world and received critical praise. The film brought horror back to Pakistani cinema. These examples show that how Pakistani cinema started to revive and brought in transnationalism in movies.




Prevalence of Transnational trends in Domestic Commercial cinema

Since this study examines transnational cinema practices in Pakistan that challenge and move across borders in a time of resurgent nationalisms and increasing fortifications of actual and symbolic borders, and aims to promote a reflection on the social, cultural, political, and economic value of global communication and networking within the context of Asia; particularly Pakistan representing South Asia. Despite the aforementioned trend of border policing and the resurgence of nationalistic tendencies, South and East Asian cinemas preserve a solid transnational character, as mostly genres and themes are shared across borders, and the popularity of the Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Pakistani film industries (the main focus of this issue) extend well beyond their national borders – both within Asia and in the West (Chen, 2022).

With the release of the Bollywood film “Chandni Chowk to China” (directed by Nikhil Advani), which saw Indian cinema gain a foothold in China, 2009 was a breakthrough of sorts. This was formalized by the India-China Co-production Treaty of 2014, which saw the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television establish a treaty to expand and develop 'cultural and economic exchanges' that would contribute to the 'enhancement of bilateral ties in the audio-visual field' (Hoda, 2013.). This resulted in an increase in the number of Indian films released in China, as well as opened a doorway for the Pakistani film industry, as both countries share practically all of the same roots and represent South Asian cinema. This brought in the transnationalism to the three major distinctions in relation to cinema i.e. talent, location and nudity. Because transnationalism brought in the cast from different countries, and shooting at different venues provide solid basis for transnationalism. Furthermore, due to cultural differences, few scenes in a movie which are acceptable in one society could be categorized as obscene. So these issues brought in the attention of researchers to these critical elements of transnationalism. 

This study examines critical trends in transnational cinema studies with a focus on South and East Asia, particularly Pakistan, through the analysis of various recently released movies which have somehow elements of transnationalism including talent, location, and obscenity. 




Talent

"Face of the production" is the most often used term for the actors of a movie (Simonton, 2009). In this research talent is taken as actors working in the movie as well as the crew team behind the lens originating from other countries (other than Pakistan). Historically, scholarly research on transnational cinema has prioritized ideas about "definitions, terms of reference, and specific issues" (Barker, 2009). This is largely owing to the several interpretations that 'transnational cinema' has received in film studies and how talent from different nationalities is used in movies (Lee, 2022). 

According to compilations published in a Pakistani film magazine (Dadi, 2012), a large number of international performers worked in Pakistani commercial cinema throughout the country's golden age. They came from a variety of countries, including Shahpara, an Iranian actress who appeared in the 1967 film 'Jan Pehchan' with Pakistani actor Muhammad Ali, and Malni, a Sri Lankan actress who appeared in the 1976 film 'Saazish' opposite Pakistani actor Usman Peerzada, and Kristina, an Indonesian actress who appeared in the 1980 film 'Bandish' with Pakistani actor Nadeem, among others. Abhinav Bindra, a well-known actor, has acted in a number of Pakistani films and is well-liked in the country as well. In 1984, he co-starred in the film "Bobby" with Pakistani actor Javed Sheik, which was a critical and commercial success in the country of his birth. In addition to "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" in 1983 and Miss Colombo in 1984, Sbitha appeared in a number of other successful Pakistani films, including Nadia and Zameen Armaan in 1985, Hum Aik Hain, Ruby, and Miss Bangkok in 1986, Nijaat and Himmat wala in 1987, Hungama in 1988, and Khan pey Japan in 1989, according to Qureshi (2012). 

So this evidence showed that cinemas have adopted transnationalism previously where stars from different countries appeared in movies made by another country. These factors have a great impact on the success of a movie because it involves a diversified talent with different backgrounds and experiences (Lo, 2001). If a movie is having cast from a different country, it may also create a buzz among the viewers resulting in potential success of a movie (Musa, 2022). Furthermore, technical staff from different countries with diversified background is also supposed to contribute towards the success of a movie (Musa, 2022) because a diversified pool of talent possibly brings in diversified experience in all sectors of a movie.




Location

In accordance with the research of Basu (2004), in this globalized world which is moving at a very speedy pace, the concept of "home" has become an influential part of the present-day discussion to reposition the identity. Many members of the diasporic communities, therefore, visit their "homelands" to re-root their identities, soothe their nostalgia and find nourishment (Nanjangud, & Reijnders, 2022). Individuals become nostalgic to see a specific location, especially if they have some physical, mental or spiritual affiliation with that location. Keeping the same analogy in mind, movies directors have also incorporated different locations in their movies so that they can attract a diversified pool of audiences from different cultural and country backgrounds.

Location is taken as the geographical area where the shooting was conducted for a movie (Sharma, Nicolau, & Mas, 2022). It could be local or international. Since this study is addressing transnational trends, so shooting at international locations can lead to more transnationalism (Nanjangud, & Reijnders, 2022). Traditionally in Pakistani movies lots of movies were picturized in different venues including venues out of Pakistan. For example, the shooting of the classic movie "hathi mera sathi" was also done in Sri Lanka which gives a boost to the notion that when cinemas are involved in transnationalism, the location and venue of film shooting also contribute to the success of the film. Since multinational venues for movie shooting also add to the diversity of movie which may give rise to the increased viewership of a movie.




Obscenity

Obscenity is a very abstract term as everyone has its different definitions. Some action might be considered obscene for some while others might take it normally. So the definition of obscenity may vary from society to society and culture to culture (Attia, 2022). When cinemas are involved in transnationalism, movie producers try to have cast from different countries and they try to release the movie in different countries where there is a diverse pool of audience. When a movie wants to attract a diverse pool of audience, it must have content to address the diversified viewership. 

Cultural differences can create a debate with regard to obscenity, where an individual can claim a certain scene of movie as obscene while another individual from a different country and cultural background can categorize the same movie scene as a normal one and non-obscene. This shows that the concept of obscenity is abstract and may keep on changing as soon as the viewers’ country and cultural affiliation changes (Rocker, 2022).

Audiences from different countries have a different set of values and norms so they have different parameters of obscenity (Rocker, 2022). So, the directors of the movies want to engage the interest of different types of audiences which may bring in the content which could be acceptable for one group of viewers but could be rated as obscene for another group of audience. In this study, obscenity is known as a concept that has legal boundaries and used to identify certain actions including nudity, skin showing as offensive to the public sense of decency. The level of skin showing and nudity is within the boundaries of PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority).

According to cumulative theory (Grant, 2008), the media shapes our opinions over time. Not only contents of a certain communication affect our choices, but also its design. The same goes for culture and cinema. After prolonged exposure to alien cultural knowledge, some audiences begin to appreciate it, and this appreciation is not related to content cognition, but rather to imagination stimuli.

There is purposeful gender construction in Pakistani cinema through movies, posters, and many other types of cinemas in which female body features are produced and reconstructed. Woman images and presentations on cinematic billboards, posters, film soundtracks, and film titles performed the role of mute language in this realm of cinema, creating a distinct milieu. This hushed setting produces a specific meaning that associates the woman and her physique with desire. These obscene body images establish stereotypical views of women in the minds of viewers, affecting society as a whole. This has somehow made the commercialization of a woman to the status of just sex symbols for male enjoyment.

So, this study finds out that despite research on transnationalism in the cinema industry, as explained in the context of Indian cinema, there is a gap in research in relation to transnationalism in Pakistani cinema and how it is looking into the talent, location and obscenity. Since transnationalism in cinema requires diversity where cast and venue could be selected from different countries and the selection of scenes could also be go beyond the host country culture, so that audience from other countries could also be attracted. Reports claim 

that a movie's box office success in the country in which its stars are from is positively correlated with their presence in the movie (Box Office Detail). 

For instance, a Chinese actress named Li Bingbing was given a significant part in the 2014 Chinese box office champ Transformers: Age of Extinction (Gruenewald & Wang, 2018). The same thing happened when Pakistani actors Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan were cast in Indian films, respectively (Khoobsurat in 2014 and Raees in 2017). Their presence not only pleases and satisfies fans, but also raises the bar for regular viewers, who are more likely to have high expectations, and transnationalism improves positively through cinema. It is anticipated that movie studios will continue to use this strategy to increase the appeal of their films to viewers and fans around the world. So this study will look in to the transnational trends in Pakistani cinema by looking into talent, location, and obscenity.

Methodology

Population for the Current Study

Lately, Pakistani film industry has seen a lot of diversity. New movies are being produced which have cast from not only Pakistan but plenty of films have cast from other countries as well. In addition, to have a diversified technical support, a few movies also have behind the lens team originating from other countries. Since the topic of this study is based on transnational trends in Pakistani cinema, the population for this study

includes Pakistani movies having cast or location from multiple countries or having foreigners behind the lens, produced in the last 15 years. The reason for the selection of movies produced in the last 15 years is based on the understanding that in the last 15 years Pakistani cinema has introduced various hit movies introducing local and foreign talent in those movies as well as the shooting of those movies were also at various national and international locations which strengthens our case of transnationalism in Pakistani cinema. In addition to compete with international cinema, Pakistani spectators also expect more openness in movies, the movies produced in the last 15 years also were more open to bold scenes (more towards obscenity) as compared to the movies produced previously in Pakistan.

 

Sample

For the sake of content analysis, Clive Seale and

Fran Tonkiss (2012) added that the process of sampling is conducted in accordance with the three basic criteria: manageability, representativeness and relevance (p. 461). In accordance with the basic selection criteria of manageability, representativeness and relevance and to meet the objectives of this study, a total of 12 movies were selected to be analyzed on various selected parameters discussed earlier for the sake of content analysis.

Purposive sampling was used for the selection of the sample. Due to a lack of time and other resources, purposive sampling is deemed best for this type of studies since it offers more convenience and facilitates the research process by fulfilling the overall purpose of the research. All the selected movies, which were selected based on purposive sampling, contains international cast and/or shooting at international locations and/or more openness/obscenity/ intimate scenes. A list of selected movies for this study is presented in Table 1.




 

Table 1. Selected sample for the study

No.	Name of the Movie	Year of release	No.	Name of the Movie	Year of release
1.	Zinda bhaag	2013	2.	Khuda kay liye	2007
3.	Teefa in trouble	2018	4.	Jawani phir nahin aani 2	2018
5.	Na maloom afraad 2	2017	6.	Super Star	2019
7.	Waar	2013	8.	Punjab nahi jaungi	2017
9.	Bol	2011	10.	Operation 021	2014
11.	Chalay they saath	2017	12.	Moor	2015




Method of Analysis

Keeping in view the objective of this study, for the sake of analysis, content analysis is conducted. Clive Seale and Fran Tonkiss (2012, p. 460) were of the view that in general content analysis entails the quantitative assessment of a selected sample (which may include media or a texts) for the occurrence and frequency of specific individuals, terms, locations, concepts or narratives. This may engage the identification of the sample (selection of movies in this research), assigning them specific coding (textual/graphical analysis for common denominators) and finally interpretation (drawing out the conclusions in accordance with the scope of the research). 

Analysis and Results

Since this study is using content analysis to

analyze the data, mainly there exist two different types of content analysis including relational content analysis and conceptual content analysis. The conceptual content analysis finds out the presence and frequency of selected concepts in a text/video on the other hand relational content analysis further develops the conceptual content analysis by probing the relations among various concepts in a text/video. Each type of content analysis has the potential for generating different conclusions, outcome, meanings and interpretations.

This study adopted the conceptual content analysis where the existence and frequency of selected variables is identified in the sample. Since sample for the current study consist of 12 Pakistani movies released in the last 15 years, the following variables were identified in the selected movies named as coding units and presented in Table 2:




Table 2. Code Sheet

No.	Coding Unit	Coding Categories
1.	Talent	Presence of international cast onscreen or behind the lens crew members
2.	Location	Shooting of movie at an international location (other than Pakistan)
3.	Obscenity	PDA, intimate scenes, Skin showing (nudity)

 

Based on the coding units and coding categories, Table 3 provides details of content analysis for this study.




Table 3. Content Analysis Details - Variables and Categories in each movie

		Coding Unit and Coding Categories
No.	Name of the movie along with release year	Talent: On-screen International cast/Actors and/or back of the lens crew	Frequency/Presence	Location: Shooting at international locations	Frequency/Presence	Obscenity: PDA, intimate scenes, Skin showing (nudity)	Frequency/Presence
1.	Khuda kay liye (2007)	§  Naseeruddin Shah §  Austin Marie Sayre	2	§ Pakistan § Chicago, US § London, UK	2	§  Intimacy and the live-in relationship between Hussain shah and a Caucasian woman.	1
2.	Bol (2011)	§ Regional Talent	Nil	§ Pakistan	Nil	§  At 18th minute, the child touching and Pedophilia reference. (student-tutor) §  Workplace sexual Harassment at the 55th minute §  Child Sexual abuse at 01:04 minute §  Skin showing while changing clothes	4
3.	Zinda bhaag (2013)	§ Naseeruddin Shah	1	§ Indoor locations in local lower middle-class settings. §	Nil	§  Song: Kurri aesey intimacy at the 14th minute in the 7th scene §  The intimate scene in the 49th minute §  The intimate scene at 19th minute	3
4.	Waar (2013)	§ Local Talent	Nil	§ Pakistan § Rome (Italy) § Istanbul (Turkey)	2	§  Off-shoulder dress with naked legs 2min 30-sec scene §  flesh back (light, intimate scenes) §  bedroom scene in a low-neck nighty §  intimate couple dance at 1:23 minute	4
5.	Operation 021 (2014)	§ Alfonso González Aguilar (Los Angeles based Producer) § Joe Towne as Nathan § James Hallett as Stan § Wendy Haines § Summer Nicks as Jones	5	§ Pakistan § Pakistan Afghan Border	1	§  Light, intimate scene(hugging) in the vehicle at 37th minute §  Lady wearing miniskirt at 1:09 minute §  Hugging 1:10 minute §  Harassment scene at 1:25minute	4
6.	Moor (2015)	§ Local Talent	Nil	§ Pakistan	Nil	§  _______	Nil
7.	Namaloom afraad 2 (2017)	§ Benedikt Sebastian § Micharn Pollock § Hanno Jacobs	3	§ South Africa § UAE (On green screen)	2	§  Intimacy scenes throughout the song "Phireydarbadar." §  "Kaif o Suroor" Item Song. §  "Chal Hug Ley" Song full of Scantily clad females/males in miniskirts, shorts, bikinis/ topless males §  Short Pants In the climactic scene worn by Hania Amir	4
8.	Chalay they saath (2017)	§ Kent S Leung (Chinese) as Adam	1	§ Pakistan	Nil	§  _____	Nil
9.	Punjab nahi jaungi (2017)	§ Local Talent	Nil	§ Pakistan	Nil	§  Dance in Short top with lenga (Mera 24/7 hilna hilna hilna)	1
10.	Teefa in trouble (2018)	Tom Coulston as Andy	1	§ Pakistan § Warsaw (Poland)	1	§  Bikini wearing hostess in the first song at the 8th minute §  Makeup artist wearing a low-cut dress that showed off her cleavage §  In the last song, at 1:31st minute, the girls appeared in a swimsuit.	3
11.	Jawani phir nahin aani 2 (2018)	Kanwaljit Singh  Kunika Sadanand Lal Shehzad Khan (Indian Actor)	3	§ Istanbul  § Dubai	2	§  Top Less male at 10th-minute scene §  Suggestive Nude Actor in the next scene §  A suggestive homosexual man ( Mr Balani) formally kissing a man on the cheek. §  "Ishq Hua jo Taari" Intimate dancing in Club with minute Skin showing Mimicking Indian Item songs. §  Semi nude men At 25th min Scene §  Crossdressing by Ahmed Ali butt §  The Poolside scene Shows a topless guy with the main Lead Actress wearing a Skintight, Sleeveless cocktail dress. §  Comic Intimate Scene between a female guy and a cross-dressed Main Actor.	8
12.	Super Star (2019)	Umesh Kumar Gola	1	§ Pakistan	Nil	§  The lead actor is topless in dhadak Barak §  Reference to casting couch §  suggestive make out scene in the song in dinnon §  waist less blouse in Noori song §  Strapless, backless gown on red carpet scene §  Intimate PDA scenes in climax	6

 

Coming back to the variables and categories of the research, results of content analysis show following findings: 

Results and Findings

The study of sample movies reflected that in eight out of twelve movies (including Khuda kay liye, Zinda Bhaag, Operation 021, Namaloom afraad 2, Chalay they saath, Teefa in Trouble, Jawani phir nahin aani 2 and Super star) foreign talent was casted and it was not just for the sake of their names but the role they played may be taken as the backbone of the movie as Kent S Leung- the Chinese star’s character in “Chalay they saath” or Naseeruddin Shah- the Indian Fame’s role in “Zinda Bhaag”. Their performance was appreciated by the cinema viewers and their local fans went to watch the movies just to see their performance, making it a success.

It was also observed that five out of twelve movies (including Khuda kay liye, War, Namaloom afraad 2, Teefa in trouble and Jawani phir nahin aani 2) were shot in the locations outside Pakistan. The beautiful international locations granted these movies a special edge over locally shot movies particularly for those viewers who are nature lovers and expect that the movie will have diversified locations. Furthermore, international locations also add up to the success of a movie because shooting at international locations show that movie is high budget and may have something special for the viewers.

In the case of obscenity or skin showing, it was revealed that the frequency of such cases remained ranging from one to eight in ten out of twelve selected movies (including Super Star, Jawani phir nahin aani 2, Teefa in trouble, Punjab nahi jaungi, Namaloom afraad 2, Operation 021, Waar,  Zinda bhaag, Bol and Khuda kay liey) making it an unavoidable spice for cinema viewers.

These results show that audience is influenced by the international trends adopted and followed in the movies. The latest trends in fashion, the communication style, the dress up style (low neck and backless dresses) and particular looks in their appearance appear to be a gift of transnational trends in local as well as international movies.

Discussion

This research study used content analysis technique on the selected sample of twelve Pakistani movies produced in the last fifteen years. The research was carried out for the frequency as well as occurrence of presence of international cast onscreen or behind the lens crew member, international locations, PDA, intimate scenes and Skin showing (nudity).

Hence our first objective was “to explore the prevalence of transnational trends in domestic commercial cinema” which includes to look for the presence of international talent, locations and openness or obscenity present in selected 12 Pakistani movies for this study. According to the Table 3 in “Operation 021”, a movie of 2014, international talent was introduced at the most among the sample twelve movies. Alfonso González Aguilar (Los Angeles based Producer), Joe Towne as Nathan, James Hallett as Stan, Wendy Haines and Summer Nicks as Jones performed in this movie. Secondly, movies “NamaloomAfraad 2” (2017) and “JawaniPhirnahiaani 2” (2018) were the movies which showed a frequency of 3 as compared to other sample movies for the indulgence of foreign talent. 

In “Namaloom Afraad 2” Benedikt Sebastian, Micharn Pollock and Hanno Jacobs performed as foreign talent. Whereas in “Jawani Phir Nahi Aani 2” Kanwaljit Singh, Kunika Sadan and Lal and Shehzad Khan (Indian Actor) were casted to perform as foreign talent. In the movie “Khuda kay liye (2007) Naseeruddin Shah and Austin Marie Sayre performed bringing the movie at a frequency of two among the sample of 15. Then, in “Zinda Bhaag”, “Chaley they saath” (2017), ”Teefa in trouble” (2018) and “Super Star” (2019) only a single foreign actor performed. That was Naseeruddin Shah (an Indian Actor) who played the main role of DON in “ZindaBhaag”, Kent S Leung (Chinese) as Adam in “Chaley they saath” (2017), Tom Coulston as Andy in” Teefa in trouble” and Umesh Kumar Gola in “Super Star” (2019).  However, in “Bol” (2011), “Waar” (2013), “Moor” (2015) and “Punjab nahi jaungi” (2017), no international talent was casted to perform.

As far as locations are concerned, in “Khuda kay liye (2007) two national i.e., Lahore and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two international i.e., Chicago (US) and London (UK), in “Waar” (2013) five national i.e., Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Swat Valley and Azad Kashmir whereas two international i.e., Rome (Italy) and Istanbul (Turkey), in “Namaloom Afraad 2” two international locations i.e., South Africa and UAE (on green screen) and  in “Jawani Phir nahi aani 2” two international locations Istanbul and Dubai were selected to shoot.  While in “Operation 021” (2014) and in ”Teefa in trouble” (2018) only one international location i.e., Pakistan Afghan Border and Warsaw (Poland)’s Mesmerizing natural locations were used along with the local Pakistani locations. But in “Bol” (2011), “ZindaBhaag”, “Moor” (2015), “Chaley they saath” (2017), “Punjab nahi jaungi” (2017) and “Super Star” (2019) no international locations were shot.

Now, as concerns the third transnational trend the obscenity is concerned, it was at its highest in “Punjab nahi jaungi” (2017). At eight points, it was marked by the researcher. Top Less male at 10th-minute scene, Suggestive Nude Actor in the next scene, Suggestive homosexual man ( Mr. Balani) formally kissing a man on the cheek, "Ishq Hua jo Taari" Intimate dancing in Club with minute Skin showing Mimicking Indian Item songs, Semi-nude men at 25th min scene, Cross-dressing by Ahmed Ali butt, the Pool-side scene shows a topless guy with the main Lead Actress wearing a Skin tight, Sleeveless cocktail dress and Comic Intimate Scene between a female guy and a cross-dressed main Actor. In “Super Star” (2019), the obscenity factor was present at six points. Lead actor is topless in dhadak Barak, Reference to casting couch, suggestive makeout scene in song in dinnon, waist less blouse in Noori song, Strapless, backless gown on red carpet scene and Intimate PDA scenes in climax. 

Then in “Bol” (2011), “Waar” (2013), “Operation 021” (2014) and “Namaloom Afraad 2” (2017), the obscenity was found at four places. In “Bol” (2011), at 18th minute, the child touching and Pedophilia reference (student-tutor), Workplace sexual Harassment at the 55th minute, Child Sexual abuse at 01:04 minute and Skin showing while changing clothes is counted in the category. In “Waar” (2013), Off-shoulder dress with naked legs 2min 30-sec scene, flesh back (light, intimate scenes), bedroom scene in low-neck nighty and an intimate couple dance at 1:23 minute were the obscene scenes. In “Operation 021” (2014), Light, intimate scene(hugging) in the vehicle at 37th minute, Lady wearing miniskirt at 1:09 minute, hugging 1:10 minute and a harassment scene at 1:25 minute were found. 

In “NamaloomAfraad 2” (2017), there were intimacy scenes throughout the songs including "Phirey dar badar", "Kaif o Suroor" and item song, "Chal Hug Ley". All these songs were full of obscenity as scantily clad females/males in miniskirts, shorts, bikinis/ topless males and short pants were seen. In the climactic scene outfit worn by Hania Amir was classified as obscene scenes. While in “Zinda Bhaag” and “Teefa in Trouble” (2018) there were three scenes which fall in this category. In “Zinda Bhaag”, in song Kurri aesey intimacy was found atat 14th minute in 7th scene, an intimate scene in the 49th minute and again an intimate scene at 19th minute were there. In “Teefa in Trouble” (2018) the intimate scenes were found where bikini wearing hostess in the first song at the 8th minute, makeup artist wearing a low-cut dress that showed off her cleavage and in the last song, at 1:31st minute, the girls appeared in a swimsuit could be categorized as obscene. 

In “Punjab nahijaungi” (2017) and “Khuda kay liye” (2007), one obscene scene was found in each. In “Punjab nahijaungi” (2017) dance in short top with lehnga (Mera 24/7 hilna hilna hilna) and in “Khuda kay liye” (2007) intimacy and the live-in relationship between Hussain shah and a Caucasian woman were found to be obscene. On the other hand, no such scenes were found in “Moor” (2015) and “Chalay they saath” (2017).

The facts presented in the study reveals that the Box office influencers and domestic filmmakers have to consider and incorporate transnational cinematic trends in national commercial cinema. The film industry is not only thriving in the age of globalization, but it is also having a difficult time competing with other international cinemas. The Pakistani film industry is in trouble, both financially and in terms of new problems like cultural imperialism and an identity crisis brought on by globalization. Digitalization and convergence have greatly influenced culture and society on a global scale and greatly influenced independent and small film industries. These readings lead us to the conclusion that globalization affects the situation positively which is also in accordance with the existing literature (Noviana, & Simanjuntak, 2022). The good news is that the Pakistani film industry has benefited from having a global audience, which is as advantageous for Pakistan's image as for financial aspect of the industry.

Identifying the factors that led to the decline of Pakistan's film industry is crucial now that the country is witnessing a cinematic revival. This is a trend-setter because no equivalent research has been done locally. So, it was found that Pakistani cinema industry is trans nationalizing where we have found evidences for international onscreen and back lens talent, multinational locations and obscenity as well. These findings serve the overall objectives of this study.

Limitations and Future Research

Since no study is complete by all means, that study has also few limitations. This study focuses on secondary sources and media literature due to a lack of earlier research and high-quality recordings of numerous classic films. Due to the study's temporal methodology, an in-depth investigation of different eras' sociopolitical and economic conditions is impossible. Future studies should encompass a short time span and these qualities. Comparing Lollywood and Bollywood, which have comparable origins, will help analyze local cinema patterns and audience expectations.

Conclusion

This study examined the transnational cinematic patterns in Pakistani film, as the industry resurges with multinational casts, crews, and global screenings. It has studied filmmakers' responsibilities in transnational film and advised future filmmakers on understanding transnationalism in Pakistan. Its implementation can combine global and local identity and culture with national and transnational solidarity. Its depiction could affect Pakistani films.

It may hence be concluded that transnational trends in movies tend to bring gradual but long-lasting changes in daily life, outfits, cuisines, manners, language, pronunciation and almost all the aspects of a viewer’s life and tendencies, individually as well as collectively. A little of another nation’s cultural addition in a movie compels it to watch it and accept all the other trends, as a pleasant addition in their own culture. Furthermore, it could be suggested to the Pakistani film producers to incorporate transnational aspects in their movies, in order to make them interesting for diverse cultures and nations as well as Pakistani culture may also be incorporated pleasantly along with transnationalism to promote it accordingly.

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