"Lollywood" as it later came to be known—can trace it's roots far back into undivided India, well before Pakistan was to become a separate state by the time the Indian Partition occurred in 1947. The early history of the industry indicates that it started out very bare, but gradually saw tremendous growth and popularity. The history of Pakistani cinema itself can be separated into several distinct eras, which are "Post-Independence & Early Years (c. 1947—c. 1958)", "The Golden Age of Pakistani Cinema (c. 1959—c. 1977)", "The Dark Age of Pakistani Cinema (c. 1978—c. 2002)", "The Media Liberation Act (2002) & Revival of The Cinema Industry (c. 2002—c. 2011)" and finally "Success & The New Wave of Pakistani Cinema (c. 2011—c. Present)". The industry barely survived during the late 1970s and throughout much of the 1980s when a harsh religious stance was enforced upon it by Zia-ul-Haq, who's disastrous Islamization policies (but also the introduction of new technologies such as the VCR) destroyed Lollywood for the next two decades. It was subsequently rescued by Pervez Musharaff, who oversaw the revival of both Pakistan's economy and it's film industry, with the introduction of many policy reforms. Today the Pakistani film industry is still small, but is at last growing very rapidly.[1] However, several challenges do still remain, namely the number of cinema's in existence across the country. It should technically have over 4,000 in 2018 but has less than 129 (or 0.62 per million in contrast to India's 12 per million and the United State's 126 per millon), having reached a peak of 1,500 during it's heyday. Despite this, the country has however been breaking multiple records in recent years and sustaining very high-quality output since it's revival. The Pakistan film industry—oras it later came to be known—can trace it's roots far back into undivided India, well before Pakistan was to become a separate state by the time the Indian Partition occurred in 1947. The early history of the industry indicates that it started out very bare, but gradually saw tremendous growth and popularity. The history of Pakistani cinema itself can be separated into several distinct eras, which areand finally. The industry barely survived during the late 1970s and throughout much of the 1980s when a harsh religious stance was enforced upon it by Zia-ul-Haq, who's disastrous Islamization policies (but also the introduction of new technologies such as the VCR) destroyed Lollywood for the next two decades. It was subsequently rescued by Pervez Musharaff, who oversaw the revival of both Pakistan's economy and it's film industry, with the introduction of many policy reforms. Today the Pakistani film industry is still small, but is at last growing very rapidly.However, several challenges do still remain, namely the number of cinema's in existence across the country. It should technically have over 4,000 in 2018 but has less than 129 (or 0.62 per million in contrast to India's 12 per million and the United State's 126 per millon), having reached a peak of 1,500 during it's heyday. Despite this, the country has however been breaking multiple records in recent years and sustaining very high-quality output since it's revival.

Pakistan's film industry is known as Lollywood, as it originates in Lahore. Today it mainly operates in Karachi.