Artists in Pakistan do not get to reap the fruit of their labor in the long run regardless of the long list of titles under their names. There has been no-royalty payments system in the country. But the celebs now have something to celebrate as the Senate passed a resolution supporting them.
Royalties are payments made to artists when a project that they have worked on gets re-run or reused in any way. The resolution was introduced by Senator Faisal Javed Khan, who worked on a comprehensive bill to address this very issue.
The good news is that Senator Khan’s perseverance paid off and the Senate passed the resolution on Monday. Khan had told Dawn Images that he had started working on the matter back in April but had to wait in order to compile the feedback from the artist community and their lawyers.
Congratulations as the resolution has been passed by the @SenatePakistan unanimously today. Appreciate the support from all the members of the house. #RoyaltiesForArtists https://t.co/VuP00p0wHC
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) January 17, 2022
“Actors are given royalties worldwide. If we don’t change the working environment of our artists or change the way they live, then we will have killed creativity ourselves,” he said. Senator Khan has won the hearts of Pakistan’s celebrities, and they all praise him for his efforts on their behalf.
Celebs cheers on the Senator
“Our artists deserve security and due recognition of their work,” wrote actor Adnan Siddiqui on Twitter.
Finally! It was due since a long time. Our artists deserve security and due recognition of their work. #RoyaltyBill
— Adnan Siddiqui (@adnanactor) January 17, 2022
Fellow actor Humayun Saeed also appreciated Senator Khan.
Congratulations to TV/Film fraternity @SenatePakistan has unanimously passed resolution with the objective to empower Copyright Board to fix royalties for licensing and assignment of work and ensure payments to artists. Thank u members of the house #RoyaltiesForArtists pic.twitter.com/S1O57FFuyg
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) January 17, 2022
The Sinf-e-Ahan star Ramsha Khan retweeted the senator and wrote, “This is such great news. First step in the right direction of paying royalties for artists”.
This is such great news … first step in the right direction of paying #RoyaltiesForArtists
Thank you @FaisalJavedKhan 🙏🏼 https://t.co/JZOTazXSLw
— Ramsha Khan (@ramshakofficial) January 17, 2022
Actor Mikaal Zulfiqar who was one of the first artists to raise the call for royalties was delighted with the decision and shared his thoughts on Instagram. “Biggest news for the media industry in years. Thank you Faisal Javed Khan for giving us our due right,” he wrote.
“This will benefit so many. The industry as a whole will prosper. Big thank you to the Senate for passing the royalties bill. Thank you to everyone who unconditionally supported this process.”
Other actors Ali Safina and Vasay Chaudhry also thanked the senator on Twitter.
Kya baat hai @FaisalJavedKhan 👏🏼 https://t.co/clD0KxSgVm
— Ali Safina (@AliSafinas) January 17, 2022
BRILLIANT effort @FaisalJavedKhan Thank YOU and Best of luck for the Second and Step.#RoyaltiesForartists https://t.co/ceFtttmxcG
— vasay chaudhry (@vasaych) January 17, 2022
Due royalties sparked a heated debate after veteran TV actor Naila Jaffery posted a video asking TV channels to pay her dues for re-airing her work. Jaffery, who passed away last year, spent most of her savings on her treatment and had difficulty affording medical care
The actor had been fighting ovarian cancer since 2016. Ever since her appeal, the conversation around due royalty payments for artists gained momentum with several actors demanding it.
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