It was a time when Pakistani dramas were known for being short, sweet & to-the-point but the current trend has it going. Whenever I was asked if I was following any Indian dramas I always replied for not having much time & patience to invest in their never-ending headache-provoker dramas & for this reason I have always enjoyed watching Pakistani dramas because of the limited number of episodes. But sadly, I’m disappointed at the unnecessary stretching of our dramas lately.
We all have seen how each channel strives to stretch the drama beyond 20+ episodes just for the sake of TRPs. I have seen so many dramas that have proven to be a huge disappointment because of the unnecessary dragging & stretching leaving the viewers agitated at the deviation from the main plot & irritated because of the uncertain & unexpected changes that spoil the drama. Definitely the unpredictability does play an important role in the success of the drama but only that unpredictability which makes some sense unlike the one which is enforced in the drama to prolong it. I believe if the story actually has a substance then it should be covered in more than 20 episodes but if they just bring in the twists & turns for the sake of keeping their prime-time slots filled & to get the ratings, then that is totally uncalled for. This stretch has only left the viewer’s furious because they feel betrayed & the whole blame goes onto the channel for not providing the quality entertainment. It’s actually getting burdensome to see the channels strive for the quantity & missing out on the quality big time.
There was a time when everyone knew about the number of episodes the drama would offer & because of this tiny detail, everyone used to anticipate what might happen in the end because they knew that by each passing episode the drama was approaching its climax but sadly this isn’t the case anymore. These days it’s like we literally have no idea about how many episodes there’re going to be & by the time when the drama reaches its final stages, we either get depress when we see that the drama didn’t end this week or mostly we’re left surprised at the immediate & rushed wrapping up of the drama.
Sadly, this has been the case with so many dramas lately that the moment the channels get the idea that a certain drama is getting popular among the masses, they decide to stretch it & make sure that people gather all the hatred they can offer towards their product which most probably would’ve become their favourite. I feel it’s a high time that the channels must understand that it’s the quality that matters & not the quantity. The viewers would any day prefer a short normal paced drama instead of a lousy long slow play where the story progresses at a speed as good as to put a turtle to shame. These days, it looks like the channels & the drama-makers promise themselves that they’d skyrocket the viewer’s expectations by the beginning of the drama but eventually will bring them down & disregard their loyalty by the end leaving a bad taste in their mouths. The providers of entertainment i.e. our channels are definitely responsible to ensure we get what we want when they promise to deliver us a quality drama rather than worrying about their own profits & ratings which they might achieve by wasting our time.
I have seen it happening so many times that after a certain point the dramas literally have nothing left to show & it’s like the drama which might’ve been suitable to be wrapped up by 16th episode is dragged just to go over the count of 20 episodes, but when comes to the ending, it is tackled inappropriately leaving viewers unsatisfied because the endings are always rushed & it looks like a single episode wasn’t enough & they should’ve divided it in at least 2 – 3 episodes. Zard Mausam, Silvatein, Mere Dard Ko Jo Zuban Mile, Mujhe Khuda Pe Yakeen Hai, Mirat ul Uroos, Kankar, Kabhi Kabhi & now our new found detest SHUKK, all have been ruined solely by the end because they weren’t treated properly & were left to be dragged for the reasons channels know better.
My point is that the channels should & must provide us at least with the number of episodes the new drama is going to be covering so that we aren’t kept in the dark. They should at least mention it on their respective websites in the details section as to how many episodes this drama consists of. If that happens; by the beginning of the drama we can decide whether we are ready to invest so many weeks in a certain play or not. Being the viewers & the reason behind the channels success I think we do have a right to know the number of episodes beforehand & the channels owe this much of a detail to its viewers at least.
Share your opinion about it & tell us what you think. :)
Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.
