In the recent years where our media has turned the Holy month of Ramadan into an opportunity to grab ratings and generate revenue out of it, where everything that our TV channels do mostly defy the essence of Ramadan, where it is all about fun and games from last few years, a show like Ittehad Ramadan came as a breath of fresh air. Aplus’ Ittehad Ramadan transmission is the only Ramadan transmission which does not only celebrate the true spirit of this Holy month but is actually very well thought out because their main motive was not to generate revenue by following the rat race by competing with other channels by doing what they do. The team of Ittehad Ramadan actually decided to do something which was not only in new and fresh but totally in accordance with the teachings of Ramadan and they decided to explore different dimensions to give people a perspective of what their fellow Muslims are like.
Unlike other channels which invested in grabbing the attention of the general public by using cheap tactics in this month, Aplus came up with a great idea which is truly inspiring as well as educational, where they sent a few of their celebrity volunteers with their teams to different Muslims Countries, to not only showcase the culture there but also to document those places which have an Islamic relation. What made things even more special was the fact that some of those places were mentioned in our Holy Book – The Glorious Qur’an Majeed and to see them being discussed in detail was a great initiative. This definitely has to be the first time ever that any team took such a measure that too for their audience because it was evident that they wanted to do good by the viewers and wanted them to learn something new every single day about different Muslim countries and their fellow Muslim brothers.
What makes Ittehad Ramadan a bit more special is the spirit with which all those people involved in this project have executed the idea because it makes it even more impactful. The enthusiasm and love with which the show is being hosted by Shahita Lodhi and Noor ul Hassan and presented by all those people who have gone to different countries to explore the customs, traditions and the religious places and monuments is another reason why it is a complete success. It is great watching a show which serves a bigger purpose. Omair Rana, Junaid Akram, Sami Khan, Nadia Hussain, Fakhar e Alam, Junaid Khan, Minal Khan, Ali Kazmi, Imran Abbas, Ali Azmat, Dino, Nadeem Jaffry, Ali Safina each and everyone has contributed a great deal in making this initiative taken by Aplus a success because to take the time out for such a time-consuming practice that too in Ramadan is not an easy feat but the fact that they volunteered to do it shows that even they wanted to bring something new to the table for the sake of the audience. Not only the celebrities, but the cameramen and the entire crew that decided to put the comfort of spending Ramadan with their families aside to cover these shows also makes them worth the appreciation and respect as well.
In one of the shows, Shahista did mention that it would’ve taken them half the budget and half the effort to bring the similar sort of game show to the audience which everyone else at this stage was offering but their team decided to do something different and not only that, they decided to educate the people, which is definitely something huge considering how every other channel is only indulged in the race for ratings. The team of Aplus has definitely given Pakistani audience the confidence and have restored their faith in the media that in the middle of this chaos, there do exist people like these who want to bring something beneficial for the sake of audience.
The way each and every single volunteer showed around the places and spoke about the events that took place showed their dedication and the research that they put in for this show because it was like even they understood what their team wanted them to convey. Be it the visit to Syrian Refugees in Turkey, or visiting the Holiest of Places in Oman, or breaking fasts with fellow Muslims in Turkey or Malaysia, everything really struck a chord on a very different level and at the same time it made us proud that this was the initiative taken by our Pakistani channel. They informed and educated people so much about different cities and their culture that it really made us look forward to every single episode. What we find worth appreciating here is the fact that in Pakistan, when Ittehad Ramadan goes on-air, it used to be such a time when ladies especially would be busy preparing Iftaar for their families so their social media team vigilantly kept on uploading all those videos so that anyone who has missed those bits could later watch them too. All these little gestures really show that the team of Aplus and Ittehad Ramadan put their mind to it and had this clear vision of how they wanted to spread this effort that they took for their audience.
The tagline of the show ‘Aik Hon Muslim’ is also symbolic of the concept of Ummah; the idea that Muslims all around the world are one no matter which corner of the world they live in, their religion is the binding factor between them. Watching all these countries coming together in some way through this show is another reason why this Ramadan transmission is a step towards the right direction. We hope that other channels also derive inspiration from this show and next year come up with new ideas which grab the attention of the viewers for all the right reasons instead of banking on shortcuts like offering bikes and cars in their game shows.
The team and the Producers of Aplus Ittehad Ramadan, Hosts, the Celebrity Volunteers and their Crew Members deserve a standing ovation for putting an effort into something so meaningful and for executing it in such a way that it actually served and achieved the purpose that they were after. We first of all thank and then congratulate each and every single member of the team associated with this project and wish them more power, luck and success for next Ramadan because we hope they follow the same pattern next time around as well and allow us to explore different countries within the comfort of our homes. We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts.
Zahra Mirza & Fatima Awan.
Just in case anyone of you wants to watch all the videos, you can visit Aplus’ Official Facebook Account:
https://www.facebook.com/Aplusentertainmentchannel/
