Pakistan releases first film in China in 45 years; highlights defence ties between all-weather allies

Pakistan has released its first movie in China in over four decades, a military action film highlighting the joint venture of a fourth-generation fighter jet JF-17 with references to comparison with French-made Mirage 2000.

The movie, Parwaaz Hai Junoon, is a 2018 military action film directed by Haseeb Hassan, and is the first Pakistani movie to be released in Chinese mainland in 45 years, state-run Global Times reported on Thursday.

The movie typically features military cooperation, the mainstay of the all-weather friendship between the ‘iron brothers”.

Set for release on Friday, the movie tells the story of a group of young patriotic cadets who become the best fighter pilots in Pakistan after overcoming a number of challenges and hardships.

In one of the film's highlights, a JF-17, a fourth-generation fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan, makes a surprise appearance.

In the movie, a student at the Pakistan Air Force academy notes that the JF-17's manoeuvrability and reliability gives it a considerable advantage over the French-made Mirage 2000 and is quickly complemented by the teacher, according to the report.

Many people attending the screening had never seen a Pakistani film, it said.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque, who attended the screening, told the audience that more Pakistani films and TV dramas will be brought to China so that Chinese people may better understand Pakistani culture.

Indian movies since the days of Raj Kapoor starrer Awara in 1956 made a deep impression on China’s film audience. The trend of Indian movies picked up in China in recent years with Three Idiots, Secret Superstar, which made Bollywood film star Aamir Khan a household name in China besides grossing record revenues.