South Asian cinema

Cinema of South Asian countries

South Asian cinema refers to the cinema of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The broader terms Asian cinema, Eastern cinema and Oriental cinema in common usage often encompass South Asia as well as East Asia and Southeast Asia. Pakistan's Lollywood also is growing, while historically, Bengali cinema was highly acclaimed by international film circles.

Bangladeshi film industry, is the Bengali language film industry based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The industry often generally referred to as Dhakai Cinema or Dhallywood, has been a significant film industry since the early 1970s. The 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and the first half of the 1990s were the golden years for Bangladeshi films as the industry produced many successful films. The industry has recently begun receiving international acclaim and many Bangladeshi films are getting released internationally.

Nepali film industry, the Nepali film industry based in Kathmandu, has recently begun receiving international acclaim with films such as The Black Hen (2015), Kagbeni (2006), Dying Candle (2016) and others. Tharu Cinema based in Terai, Tharuhat is the home of the Tharu languages cinema.

Balochi cinema, based in Quetta, Balochistan is the home of Balochi language film productions. Lollywood, based in Lahore, Punjab for Punjabi cinema and Karachi, Sindh for Urdu cinema. Pashto cinema, based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the home of Pashto language film productions. Sindhi cinema, based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan is the home of the Sindhi language film productions.

Last but not least is Indonesian cinema. In the beginning, Indonesian cinema grew after World War I, rooted in the Folk Theater Drama called Dardanela. Under Usmar Ismail, Indonesian cinema became the new entertainment from 1950 to 1980. Hundred of film stars were born, such as Citra Dewi (1960), and Tanty Yosepha (1970). Yenny Rachman and Christine Hakim (1980) and Dian Sastro (the late 1990s). Teguh Karya was one of the leading Film directors in Indonesia after the era of Usmar Ismail. Now, with the popularity of television, the film is replaced with electronic cinema which is popular as sinetron. This industry has made the Indian born producer, Raam Punjabi, a tycoon of sinetron in Indonesia.