Emergency Preservation of Pakistan’s Early 2000s Sexploitation Cinema
by Khajistan Cultural Desk
·
Khajistan has acquired a vulnerable set of original 35mm reels containing five films from Pakistan’s early 2000s sexploitation cinema.
Made during and after General Pervez Musharraf’s period of “enlightened moderation” from 2001 to 2008, these reels have survived against the odds and now stand at a critical point. Their condition demands immediate intervention. Khajistan is calling on its own resources and those of its partners to ensure these films, like so many original Pakistani prints before them, are not lost to neglect.
The collection consists of the following films:
- Saturday Night (2006) A serial killer targets Lahore’s stage dancers.
- Jism (2006) A banned melodrama about jealousy, desire, and the policing of sexuality.
- Ek Daulat Ki Hawas (2007) A crime story shaped by greed, betrayal, and the end of the studio era.
- Madam X (2009) A low-budget portrait of nightlife, exploitation, and moral panic.
-
Razia Phans Gayi Ghundon Mein (2015) A VCD-era thriller in which Razia is trapped between thugs, corruption, and honor culture.
These films should not be allowed to disappear. They offer a clear view of how censorship, military rule, popular fantasies, and class pressures shaped Pakistan’s visual culture in the early 2000s. Made under difficult conditions, they carry the creativity, labor, desire, and humor of working-class artists whose contributions were long overlooked by official archives. Their style, energy, and cultural lore continue to inform and are documented in Khajistan Press titles such as Loose Cannons, Dangerous Curves (2023), Smut of the Middle World Vol. 1: Pakistan (2025), and True Colors of Filmic Fairies (2023).
These reels, however, are already deteriorating. Heat and humidity have triggered vinegar syndrome, colors are fading, and the emulsion is breaking down. Once this damage progresses beyond a certain point, the films will be gone forever. Khajistan’s preservation plan is immediate and includes cleaning and stabilizing each reel, scanning every film in archival 4K, repairing damage where possible, and storing all materials in open, long-term formats.
To support this preservation project, contact info@khajistan.com.
