The first Punjabi film to be released was in the provincial capital of the Pakistani Punjab Lahore, its affectionately called Lollywood by people living outside of Pakistan in the Western Hemisphere. Lollywood is based in the city of Lahore lending its name to the Lolly part and Wood being the latter part of American Film Industry Hollywood. It has been generally called Punjwood again by western a
udiences, a portmanteau of Punjab and Hollywood. ( Punjabi Film Industry) has produced between 900 and 1,000 movies. The average number of releases per year in the 1970s was nine; in the 1980s, eight; and in the 1990s, six. In 1995, the number of films released was 11; it plummeted to seven in 1996 and touched a low of five in 1997. The fate of Punjabi film industry changed in 2002 when Harbhajan Mann's first movie “JEE AAYAN NU” hit the screens. This was the first Punjabi film to be appreciated by audiences all over the world. It completed 50 days on the big-screen and was declared a super-hit. Punjabi’s all over the world praised Harbhajan Mann’s vision and courage. With renewed interest, the Punjabi cinema has seen a revival with more releases every year featuring bigger budgets, home grown stars as well as bollywood actors of Punjabi descent taking part. Today, we all feel immensely proud of our language and our cinema; all this has been possible due to HM’s sheer determination.
