Traditional cinema halls in Rawalpindi, once the city’s foremost source of entertainment, have faded into history in the age of social media, leaving behind little more than memories for residents.<\/p>\n
Cinema enthusiasts, to this day, recall spending every weekend with friends at local cinemas, where long queues formed outside ticket windows, the aroma of freshly roasted popcorn filled the air, and audiences eagerly awaited the latest Punjabi and Urdu film releases.<\/p>\n
For decades, Committee Chowk, Rose Cinema, Odeon, Plaza and Rose Cinema were regarded as the heart of cinema culture in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.<\/p>\n
However, with Pakistan now producing very few films, neither prominent actors or actresses, nor Punjabi and Urdu-language titles carry the same appeal.<\/p>\n
For many locals, these cinemas were more than just places to watch films. They served as cultural centres where memories were made, friendships flourished and love for shared culture came alive on the silver screen.<\/p>\n
“I watched countless Punjabi and Urdu films there on weekends and visited with my family and friends during Eid holidays. Those were the golden days when people in Rawalpindi laughed together, lived happily and celebrated. Now, all I see are shops selling cosmetics, shoes, glassware and clothing,” said an Urdu literature teacher.<\/p>\n
He said that after old cinemas were bulldozed to make way for commercial activity, the cultural spirit of these places gradually disappeared.<\/p>\n
Modern cinema houses established in Rawalpindi and Islamabad like those built inside malls mainly attract those enthusiastic about international movies. Ticket prices which used to range from Rs30 to Rs100, cost between Rs500 and Rs1,000 and between Rs3,000 and Rs4,000 for box seats at these cinemas. The high prices lock out many moviegoers who would prefer watching regional films.<\/p>\n
Shift in entertainment consumption<\/p>\n
Cultural experts, filmmakers and advocates fear that although digital technology has brought convenience, it has also accelerated the decline of regional film culture, weakening community interaction and threatening an important part of the province’s cultural identity.<\/p>\n
Even in other districts, older cinemas, once packed with audiences until late at night, are also now struggling to survive as young people spend hours scrolling through shortform video applications, watching online content or relying on AI-powered tools for education and entertainment.<\/p>\n
With summer vacations underway, many students admit that mobile phones have become their primary companions for completing academic work.<\/p>\n
They say artificial intelligence applications and educational platforms provide instant summaries, translations and solutions to academic problems, reducing dependence on private tutors.<\/p>\n
Education experts acknowledge the educational benefits of AI but warn that excessive reliance on digital platforms is also changing lifestyles, reducing outdoor activities and limiting face-to-face social interaction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Traditional cinema halls in Rawalpindi, once the city’s foremost source of entertainment, have faded into history in the age of social media, leaving behind little more than memories for residents. Cinema enthusiasts, to this day, recall spending every weekend with friends at local cinemas, where long queues formed outside ticket windows, the aroma of freshly …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4657,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions\/4657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}