Crippled by sub-standard production and poor storylines, the Pakistani film industry is in tatters and faces stiff challenge from cable television, theatrical performances and Bollywood.

Cinema owners in Pakistan have been forced to convert their facilities into shopping malls and even warehouses to earn their bread and butter. According to industry sources, the domestic production of movies has fallen by over 60 percent.

Pakistan had about 750 movie theatres in the 1970s, but that figure is down now to 250, while the number of films being produced in the country has dropped to just 15 this year from 150 in the 1970s.

"The Pakistani film industry failed to mould itself according to the present day requirements and continued to depend on outdated themes," said Ehsan Talish, a film and television director.

Talish, who produces programmes for the state-owned Pakistan Television and private channels, said the lack of personable actors, professional directors, producers, musicians and composers have also damaged the industry's popularity.

Islamabad lost its only movie theatre two years ago when activists of the outlawed militant organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi torched it to protest the assassination of their leader Maulana Azam Tariq.

Located in one of the bustling local markets, Melody cinema house was the only means of movie entertainment for Islamabad residents following the closure of the city's two state-owned movie theatres due to financial losses.

"I do not think I will be able to restart the cinema, as it will require a huge investment of over $333,000 (20 million Pakistani rupees)," said Melody owner Attique Khattak.

Khattak, who has turned his cinema house into a medical care centre for victims of the Oct 8 earthquake, said restarting the cinema would mean huge losses as people were no longer interested in Pakistani movies.

"As the industry produced flops one after the other, people gave up going to cinema houses and began watching entertainment channels at home being aired by thousands of cable operators," said Talish.

Even an increasing tilt towards sex and violence failed to support the crumbling film industry as actors and actresses began eyeing Bollywood, the thriving Indian industry.

A number of Pakistani musical groups and singers have also produced their albums in India.

The increasing popularity of theatrical performances has also dealt a further below to the film sector.

Despite criticism over indecent dialogue and vulgar dances performed by female artists, the number of theatre fans is on the rise in major cities including Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi.

"I believe these theatres provide a fresh and invigorating outlook on life through their comic performances, which are followed by the adoring public," said a Pakistani newspaper columnist, Khaled Ahmad.

"We will have to bring about a fundamental change in our pattern of producing films by discouraging pathetic themes mainly based on violence and focusing more on entertainment and objectivity," he added.