Cinema and theatre
Lahore's studios, the Punjabis of Bombay cinema, the films of both Punjabs, and the stage from the naqqals to Ajoka.
Colonial Punjab
1849 – 1947
Lahore made films before Bombay was the capital of Indian cinema, and after 1947 became the heart of Pakistani and Punjabi film.
From Prithviraj Kapoor to Yash Chopra, many of the founders of Hindi cinema came from the Punjab and the frontier.
Two Punjabs
1947 – today
The dramatist who took political plays to the villages of Indian Punjab, known to millions as Bhai Manna Singh.
The film that revived Punjabi cinema in India, a family drama of faith starring Prithviraj Kapoor.
Lahore's great film of Waris Shah's Heer, with Firdous and Ijaz and songs by Noor Jehan.
The Punjabi action film that made Sultan Rahi a legend, and whose 2022 remake became the highest-grossing Pakistani film ever.
A serious Punjabi film about a landlord, his tenant and the wrong done to a woman, made by a team of art-cinema talents.
The Lahore theatre company founded under military rule, whose play Bulha brought Bulleh Shah to the stage.
The boom of the 2010s, when Punjabi films from Mohali and Lahore filled cinemas from Ludhiana to Brampton.
