After a period of chill towards Hindi Films following Mumbai Terror attacks, Pakistani audiences are once again queuing up to theatres to watch Aamir Khan’s magnum opus, Ghajini.

Attendance in halls screening Bollywood movies dropped by almost 75 per cent in the wake of tensions between the two countries, but it seems it is difficult for Pakistanis to resist an Indian flick, never mind the anti-India rhetoric.

“Ghajini” opened to a good response three weeks ago and most Pakistanis are raving about the film.

“People are calling in to book tickets and so far, many have poured in to watch ‘Ghajini‘,” Kaisar Rafique of a Karachi cineplex told Instep magazine.

Rafique, however, rued the fact that since the pirated DVDs “Ghajini” are available in the market, many people are watching the film at home.

“We are not getting the same response as “Dostana” or “Race“. It could have been brilliant if only pirated DVDs were not available in stores,” he said

A film distributor in Lahore said last month that though Pakistanis love Bollywood films, few were showing up to see the movies after the escalating tensions between the two countries. . Lahore’s Plaza Cinema manager Anwar said Indian films were being screened at three halls in his city and Plaza Cinema, which has a capacity of 850, had only 50 people showing up to watch Indian films even on weekends.

The screening of Indian films was banned in Pakistan after the 1965 war. However, Islamabad has allowed a limited number of Bollywood movies to be imported over the past few years. Compared to India’s production of over 1,000 movies a year, Pakistan’s film industry makes just about 50 movies a year.

In the recent past “Singh is King”, “Race“, “Awarapan” and “Jannat” have all done well in Pakistan. Only 12 to 15 Indian movies a year are allowed to be screened in Pakistan