Pakistan Entertainment Industry is on its peak now providing you with exciting reality and live shows, dramas and movies and there are many movies waiting to be released this year. Surely an absolute great start of this year and this industry is expanding day by day allowing new talent to pour in. This Industry is on a booming stage. Talking about only drama Industry I think this industry worth in billions now moreover the whole entertainment industry is so much powerful now that it had allowed foreigners to jump in and foreign content is also being telecast.

Firstly talking about dramas previously it was HUM-TV that use to give us some quality dramas now Geo-TV and ARY Digital are also in the same row thereby making a BIG 3 in giving us quality entertainment. There are also other channels as well in the race which is A-PLUS, Express Entertainment and PTV-HOME they are also telecasting some good dramas like Previously “Aunn Zara” ON A-PLUS and currently Jaan Hatheli Per on PTV-Home. Different Production houses have teamed up to make this Industry more competitive like A&B Productions, 7th Sky Productions, Momaina Duraid Productions, Big Bang Entertainment, Abdullah Khadwani and Humayun Saeed’s Production etc. Now this is only our Drama Industry coming towards films, ARY group is making extremely great effort for the revival of cinema and to make Film Industry stand on its feet. 2013 was a successful year for Pakistani film industry by releasing films like WAAR, JOSH, MAIN HOON SHAHID AFRIDI, CHAMBELI, LAMHA (SEEDLINGS) etc. Now more films to be released this year and mostly under ARY banner. The entertainment does not ends here we have more variety in the shape of reality and live shows.

Hence so much is going on in this year I have decided to make a list of entertainment that is currently being provided in 2014 and will be provided in future more likely in current year. So what’s going on and will going happen in 2014 lets trace it down through a list below:

PAKISTANI DRAMAS

I am mentioning it again that many interesting dramas are running, previously we cover our week by watching 1 or 2 in a week but now we can watch as many as we can throughout the whole week. Again a list of some interesting and top rated dramas.
1. RUKHSAAR ON GEO TV
2. ZINDAGI TERE BINA ON HUM TV
3. JAAN HATHELI PER ON PTV
4. MERE APNE ON ARY
5. PYARAY AFZAL ON ARY
6. RANJEESH HI SAHI ON GEO
7. SHAB-E –ZINDAGI ON HUM-TV
8. ISHQ MEIN TERE ON HUM-TV
9. GUMAAN ON EXPRESS ENTERTAINMENT
10. MERI BETI ON ARY
11. AASMANO PE LIKHA ON GEO (Last episode this week on 5th march 2014)
12. RUBARU ON HUM TV
13. SANNATA ON ARY
14. MUHABBAT SUBAH KA SITARA HAI ON HUM-TV
15. MERI ZINDAGI HAI TU ON GEO (About to finish probably by this week 7th march 2014)
16. SHUKK ON ARY
17. BILLO BABLU AND BHAIYYA ON ARY
18. BUNTY I LOVE YOU ON HUM-TV
19. MERA RAQEEB ON A-PLUS
20. DO QADAM DOOR THAY ON GEO-TV
21. KABHI KABHI ON ARY
22. SHAREEK E HAYAT ON HUM –TV
23. KAHANI RAIMA AUR MANAHIL KI ON HUM-TV

There are many more beside this list but I only have these dramas in my Knowledge and don’t assume I am watching all of these. Any ways this is the list of just current dramas that we are watching, many interesting mega projects coming up for example:

BASHIR MOMIN: This will be the most expensive and mega project featuring Faisal Qureshi, Sami Khan, Ushna Shah and many more. Its OST will be sung by Nida Arab. This will be ON-AIR on GEO-TV.

MAIN MANTO: People are also waiting for this exciting project I guess it will first come as film and then as a drama. This story is about Saadat Hassan manto and it will be directed by Sarmad Khoosat. The cast will include Sarmad Khoosat himself, Saba Qamar, Mahira Khan, Savera Nadeem, Nadia Afgan, Sania Saeed, Hina Khuwaja Bayat, Nimra Bucha etc. This will be the first time that Saba Qamar and Mahira Khan will be seen together in a project

BIN ROYE AANSU: Another great serial to look forward, this project will be completed under Humayun Saeed’s Production. The cast will include Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed, Armeena Rana Khan etc. This project is also near completion.

More Interesting serials to look forward which includes MOL (CAST: Mahira Khan and Ali Rehman), AIK PAL( CAST: Arij Fatyma and Danish Taimoor), SILA (CAST: Ainy Jaffrey and Fahad Mustafa) and many more which are not advertised yet. Moreover Ashir Azeem is back with some exciting action based scripts I am looking forward for that as well.

PAKISTANI FILMS

Now giving a reference to Nida Zaidi and Zubia Rizvi’s articles again I will mention the upcoming movies of 2014:
1. Kambakht: The comedy film featuring Hamza, Sheheryar, Sohai and Saba Qamar.

2. Jalaibee: Jaswal’s film featuring Zhalay Sarhadi, Danish Taimoor, Adnan Jaffer, Ali Safina, Ali Rehman and Uzair Jaswal.

3. Hijrat: Romantic film featuring Rabia Butt and Asad Zaman.

4. WAAR 2: This will be the sequel of waar film and Ayesha Omar will replace Ayesha Khan.

5. Moor: The film on railway structure which is directed by Jamshed Mahmood.

6. Dance Diaries: First Pakistani dance based film directed by Omar Hassan.

7. Operation 021: A story of undercover agent of CIA another international level film releasing soon featuring Shaan.

8. Kites Grounded: A story on traditional culture of Punjab basant festival.

9. The system: Another action drama film directed by shahzaad ghufoor.

10. Sayee Khuda Zul Jalal: This film is expected to be released in august a film based on Pakistani Army.

PAKISTANI SHOWS

So what exciting shows do we have currently, have a look below:

Shareef Show Mubaarak ho: This show is providing us complete entertainment since last 5 years. It is being telecast on GEO-TV and hosted by Umer Sharif. This show is hell lot of entertainment as we experience some Umer Sharif’s jokes alongside conversation with different celebrities.

TUC Lighter Side Of Life: Same kind of talk show on HUM-TV like Shareef Show as different Pakistani Celebrities are invited and have some conversation with the host but you will not laugh by watching this show instead you can judge Mahira Khan’s Immature Hosting. Any ways people are finding this show interesting so do I.

Pakistan Idol: International Singing Competition franchise now being presented in Pakistan. Despite of receiving huge amount of criticism at start now people are tuning into GEO-TV to watch this show, this show is now in an entertaining phase.

Morning Shows: Still I have no Idea what is the basic reason of having these morning shows. Although I don’t watch these pathetic shows but I heard that no sensible topic is now being discussed except to show fake marriages. Never heard of so many weddings taking place in the morning at around 7.00 am when people are leaving for offices. However these morning shows do contribute in providing entertainment.

Wow I must say so much entertainment this year and that’s why you can now see Kareena Kapoor in Pakistani ads and Lawn shoots and that’s why India is booking our artists for their projects because our own entertainment is now at its boom. So still do we have to give priority to foreign entertainment when we had so much of our own entertainment. Please support Pakistani Entertainment Industry and Pakistani Cinemas so that it can help to bring some improvement in the Pakistan’s Economy. Every nation give priority to their own entertainment then why we are so obsessed of Bollywood and Turkish Dramas. Any upcoming entertainment relating to dramas, films and shows you are familiar with? Do share your thoughts on it.

Mahira Khan

Dramas are now becoming main source of entertainment in Pakistan, the fever is increasing day by day and no one can spend its day by not watching at least one drama. The drama fever is so intense in Pakistan that it has allowed foreign dramas to enter in Pakistan as well, I wonder that a time might come when we will be watching dramas of every country. Pakistanis living abroad are also watching dramas with craze and literally I have seen Indians as well suggesting Pakistani dramas to each other.

Any ways my point is that aren’t we getting influenced from the dramas day by day? I heard many saying that oh what kind of story is this that doesn’t not happen in reality and I am like why we always use to match dramas stories with the reality. Of course life is very different from the drama, what happens in the drama is written by writer(a human being) and what will happen in our lives is already written by ALLAH. Yes I accept the fact that writers like Umera Ahmed are now writing stories which we can relate to what is happening in our society and as I have said earlier that it is an appreciable effort from them as they are trying to change the society but we cannot copy paste every single bit of story as circumstances shown in the dramas differs from our real lives.

Giving a reference to Kanwal’s recent article again I agree to this point that drama writers must give a thought to a logic before writing any story, obviously too many dramas are now ON-AIR and most of them doesn’t make any sense and if there is no chronological order in the story then drama sounds stupid from its first impression. However my basic point is that we should TAKE ENTERTAINMENT AS ENTERTAINMENT because for the last 3 to 4 months as I am getting more keen to watch Pakistani dramas and I always watch it on Internet, so I am noticing that people are commenting that this drama is far away from reality oh for GOD sake this is the drama why are we comparing it to real life just watch it for entertainment. Dramas are being presented to you just to provide you with some entertainment and to relax you from different workloads seriously for me Pakistani Dramas seems like a massage whenever I watch it after coming either from work or after having studies.

Dramas do have inclusion of some reality but only to make it interesting not to get influenced by it. I agree here that dramas also gives us few lessons including treatment of people, trust, bond of love, valuing relationships etc. but its main motive is to provide entertainment, attracts audience and to earn money. I have gone through debates with different people, their argument was that Pakistani dramas are spreading hopelessness and transferring pessimism in our young generations as they are showing mistreated women, cheating spouses and stories full of revenge. I agree to the extent that yes Drama Industry should come up with more comedy and lively dramas and sitcoms because it becomes depressing watching most of the time atrocities and social flaws but on the other hand we should not get obsessed by those dramas.

Another point is that when we relate the story of drama to the society we should look for the motive of writer. If the writer has written the story specifically for the betterment of society then yes we can relate the story to real life but still we cannot copy each and every bit as circumstances are always different but if the writer motive is to provide you with just interesting stories then no point to matching the story to the reality. For example recently I have heard many people are saying that current drama “Pyaray Afzal’s” story is unreal and I Just want to say Is this drama written for the change of society? Its motive is to just provide you with interesting love story and light comedy in order to relax you from the tensions. If you look at the story of drama “Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan” then yes we can relate its story from the real life because it is written to give lesson to the society and for the betterment of society and usually Umera Ahmed’s motive is to show harsh realities which is happening somewhere in the society although I am not noticing any positive changes occurring in the society through her stories.

Thus as you watch films or foreign serials just for entertainment so watch Pakistani Dramas also just for family entertainment and don’t get influenced by it in order to avoid depression because seriously we all are tackling already with different problems in our lives. Do you agree with me? please have your say and if not please provide answers with calmness and with logical and sensible reasons. One more thing just popped up in my mind that people may give me the reference of my recent article written on Mercedes because in that I have discussed some reality, so I just want to say that I had already written in that article in the end that it is all folks and just for fun nothing serious.

On Pakistan Idol reviews’ thread, I was asked by the followers to interview the eliminated contestants. Considering the request of my dear supporters & with the help of social media, I came in contact with Syed Sajid Abbas of Pakistan Idol who was eliminated last week from the show, leaving all his fans sad & shocked.

So, I decided to have a little chat with him & let me just say, he was courteous & cordial enough (something which I heard from others as well who got in contact with him) to reply every time I left him a message. He also agreed to respond to my interview request & I’m more than happy to be sharing what he had to say to us all.

Here’s a short Q&A session I had with Syed Sajid Abbas, so there you go:

Q) What inspired you to come to Pakistan Idol?
A) A big platform & the international software.

Q) What do you think of the judges? Tell about them individually?
A) They are highly professional. Our nation’s idols & those who have more than 80 years of an experience.
– Hadiqa Kiyani is an extremely good singer.
– Ali Azmat is an internationally recognized singer and a star.
– Bushra Ansari is a legend and an expert listener of the music.

Q) Do the judges help the contestants with the song choices?
A) I can’t tell, because that’s a personal format of the show.

Q) Do you think deserving contestants got eliminated?
A) All the 13 contestants who made to the Gala Round of Pakistan Idol are deserving. One by one, every week a contestant has to go & in the end only one of us will win the title & the trophy, so it’s not like that.

Q) If not you, who do you think deserves to win the title?
A) My personal favorites are Ali Asad Zaidi and Asad Raza Sonu.

Q) Who according to you hasn’t been performing well?
A) Shahmir Aziz Quidwai & Zamad Baig. Both of them are great singers but they lose their confidence when they come on the stage to perform in front of the judges. If that doesn’t happen, they both will rock the floor.

Q) Who became your best friend(s) during Pakistan Idol?
A) Mohammad Shoaib.

Q) What’s your message to those who are voting?
A) Vote for your favorite

Q) What’s your message to your co-contestants who are still in the race?
A) Be strategic. As there are now 10 weeks left in the competition so only good strategy can highlight you favourably.

Q) How was your experience till your journey?
A) I experienced life in Pakistan Idol.

Q) Please tell us about the voting system, is it fair?
A) Yes, it is totally fair.

Q) People say ‘the only thing missing from the reality shows is the reality’, is it true?
A) No, that is not true at all. It’s all real.

Tell us about your co-contestants in a single word?
(Could be about your feelings or their personalities)

Mohammad Shoaib: Crystal clear.
Waqas Ali Vicky: Sensible.
Waqas Ali: Sensitive.
Abdul Rafay Khan: Kiddo.
Zamad Baig: Iconic.
Mehwish Maqsood: Full of energy.
Shahmir Aziz Quidwai: Rocker.
Asad Raza Sonu: Excellent character.
Ali Asad Zaidi: True artist.
Kashif Ali: Humorous & full of life.
Rosemary: True to herself.
Sana Zulfikaar: Always in some sort of a character

In the end, a message to all your fans please?
“I got eliminated from the show, not from the music. So, don’t be upset & just wait & watch. I love you all so much.” – Sajid.

That’s it. Short & sweet, to-the-point & just what we wanted to hear from him.
I wish him luck, success & a brighter future.
Leave your message for him in the comments as I’ll be sending him a link to this post. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

What could be the most dreaded day for a mainstream television artist? Growing old, of course, quite an easy guess it is. As much as we emphasize the importance of acting skills and try our best to shift the focus to talent rather than looks, the fact that a charming personality and killer looks are a huge bonus to survive in showbiz just cannot be ignored.

Growing old is no fun! None of us are fond of waking up to grey hair, wrinkled skin and aching bones, are we? But the process of ageing is inevitable, sooner or later we all have to welcome it. Talk about Pakistani male celebs in this regard and I really feel like appreciating few of our actors who are only getting better day by day. Not that they have discovered some hidden formula of staying younger and smarter but obviously the way they carry their selves, their dressing sense, hair style and everything compliments their age and personality very well. This article will showcase four finest Pakistani male celebs who continue to look breathtakingly gorgeous as they age but obviously with the better acting skills as well!

Adnan Siddique

I have followed Adnan Siddique from Zaib-un-Nisa to Humnasheen and he looks totally amazing in each character he plays. Not only his acting skills but his dressing sense is also pretty apt for all the characters he play. Let it be eastern or western, the heighted Pakistani celeb looks good in everything. I have also seen him on ramp as a celebrity showstopper for HSY I guess, he was totally flawless there as well! Oh, and those grey hair (Humnasheen) looked damn graceful – what do you think?

Faisal Qureshi

Remember the chubby Faisal of Pakistani movies? God, he has gone through a total transformation, let it be his acting or his appearance. Faisal Qureshi surely does know how to change with the time. Not only did he shed all those unwanted kilos but worked really hard on his acting skills as well. Today, he is one of the great artists to do young to old characters and manages to give his cent percent each time.

Nauman Ijaz 

I have all respect for Nauman Ijaz for providing us quality entertainment for so long now. Traditional, casual, formal – in my humble opinion, he looks good in almost all attires. God-sent-angel or goddamned-satan he performs all type of characters well. His acting has strongly got better with his age. I’m seriously short of words while describing his extraordinary acting skills.

Fawad Khan 

Now by no means, I intend to say that Fawad Khan has become too old, but I find it truly justified to add him to the list because his style and personality has only got better with the time. The young and energetic Fawad of EP and the still young (haha) and mature Fawad of TV has the ability to stop the heartbeats of the nation. I yet have to find a person who looks as good in black frames as Fawad. He was beyond amazing in traditional dressing of Dastaan and of course carries the western formals well too.

So this was my list guys, feel free to add your favourite male celebs to the list, who you think got better with the age in terms of their appearance, style and acting skills.

Zubia Rizvi

My topic here is to explain some real mind wobbling twists that will be going to happen in near future in most of the dramas thereby creating high fever and impatience as audience wants to know what will happen. Therefore I want to write here the twists that are happening and will be going to happen in current dramas.

Pyaray Afzal: My drama week begins from this drama, the most popular drama and its fever is getting higher and higher as it takes over every one by storm. For sure this drama is creating curiosity every week as it is unknown what will happen next. So the recent twist in this drama was that Farah had told the truth finally as she got badly stuck in her own plan, surely no one is expecting that Farah will tell about the plan to everyone so early so another twist in this drama was that what will Afzal do now? What will be Farah’s parent’s next step?

Ranjish Hi Sahi: Can’t describe my feelings about this drama, beautifully written story and magnificently directed. The only drama where people are making predictions and each time predictions fails, the most unpredictable drama and in my opinion second best drama by GEO after MZZBN so for those who are not watching my recommendation is to watch this drama. Well this drama contains twists in each episode so the recent twist is that Yumna’s story is being repeated on tooba now she is finding hard to tackle the stubbornness of Hiba. Upcoming twist is that Hiba got trapped in Mehwish Plan but Rohail will save her and at the start people were predicting that Hiba and Rohail will end up together I think now this time their prediction will be right writer is just checking our patience including mine as well I have said that “how nice it would be if rohail should have come in hiba’s life but don’t what kind of story writer had written”. I am really looking forward for the next episode.

Aasmano Pe Likha: Well this drama will be finishing next week and we have tackled with all the twists in the drama no doubt this drama was unnecessarily dragged in the middle, a nice strategy if any drama giving a high TRP. One final Twist remain for the last episode that whether Qudsia will be in Mustafa House as Aaliyan’s wife or she will go away from Aaliyan’s life, secondly what will be natasha’s decision from the promos it seems that Natasha will go to America alone. The only regret in this drama is that we haven’t seen Qudsia’s and Aaliyan’s love story which was expected but any ways waiting for the last episode.

Meri Beti: Ahh! sadly despite a good story this drama fails in direction a lot, don’t know why the hell director has shot unnecessary scenes which were not meant to be shot. According to the story this drama should be finished in no more than 20 or 21 episodes. A good story spoilt with a weak direction anyways the recent twist which is being dragged since last 4 episode is that Iraj came to know that her mother was not her actual mother but her grandmother and because of this she is now behaving rudely with her mother and grandmother. There are many upcoming twists, how will faisal react when he will come to know about the truth? Will Iraj forgive her mother and grandmother? Will iraj forgive asad as well and get back in to his life or she will refuse to come?

Rubaru: Recently started drama giving lots of twists in each episode, it seems like this drama is running on a very fast pace. Recent twist is that Shabheeh finally came to know the reason behind sarmad’s psychotic behaviour and she is discovering more about her parents from sarmad’s khaalu. So next episode promo shows that neelum (Shabheeh’s mother) deceives his husband and get married to taimur and neelum’s husband will shoot himself. More twists that will come up how neelum’s brother will react predictably they will throw her out of the house and from the family? How will neelum die? How will taimur die? Then in the end how sarmad and shabheeh live together and will Kiran and Tipu’s marriage continue as Kiran always investigate Tipu on suspicion of Tipu’s relation with other girl? And so many mind wobbling twists will come in the future. Indeed an interesting drama as so many things will be untangled.

Muhabbat Subah Ka sitara hai: Again a very nice story with failed supporting cast, direction and editing. I think I don’t need to explain this drama more as most of us is watching this drama. The story was absolutely flat up till now but now a mind wobbling twist is coming up where Nabeel will die probably in a plane crash. The story was predictable ahead as well, people already knew that Zeeshan nabeel’s younger brother will marry Romaissa on the request of his father to save her from mistreatment of family.

Meri Zindagi Hai Tu: I know many people are not watching this drama but story of this drama was very interesting until 13 episodes but after that honestly it becomes lame as hell until recent twist when Meenu dies. This is the most interesting twist of this drama where Nazo and Aman on their wedding day quarrelled with each other and meenu feeling the guilt kills herself because she was the one who created the misunderstandings between Aman and Nazu. Maya’s performance was indeed appreciable one I have never seen such a painful death scene. So this Friday will be the last episode I guess with a twist that Aman will refuse to marry nazo. So what will be the end?

Shukk: No introduction or explanation needed for this brilliant drama and Sameera Fazal has written this flat story with so much twists and turns. Recent twist is that Ehtesham got married with Sania and Sehrish is also back. Upcoming twist is that sehrish will leave Ehtesham when she will come to know about their marriage. So will Sania leave as well or will remain with Ehtesham? Where is Maham and Atif the ones who had made this plan to create shukk between Ehtesham and Sehrish because of professional Jealousy? This drama is also coming to an end and all these twists will be unfold in near future.

Bunty I love you: A different and unique story. So Daania had bought Bunty not only from his father but in a recent twist from his girlfriend as well. The story repeats itself as her husband bought her from her Fiancé. In upcoming twist Daania will hire same spy for Bunty as her husband hired for her to keep vigilance on Bunty’s activities.

This the list of all dramas that I am watching and in my life I have never watched so many dramas in a week but since there are so many interesting dramas I cannot stop myself from all of these and I know that there are many more interesting dramas beside these ones but seriously this is my overdose. So tell me the mind wobbling twists that are going to happen in dramas that you are watching.

TRP stands for Target Rating Points. Every Project wants TRP the higher the TRP more money you could earn. High TRP was earned when the huge amount of audience was attracted towards a show. Here talking about particularly dramas every channel strives for the highest TRP in order to earn more money and for this they have to telecast quality dramas on prime time which is usually 8.00 P.M.

First of all every drama must be commercially successful means lots of advertisement is required through promos which generates interest. A good cast is required to attract audience at first but this strategy will not work for a long time. So eventually when the drama will get ON-AIR its story should be interesting and full of curiosity it reflects what was actually been shown in promo, sometimes promos includes only interesting parts of the story and rest of the storyline was not attractive at all. Last but not the least the director must have directed the whole drama very well this also includes brilliant camerawork and editing. Additionally the selection of day to telecast the drama is necessary because it happens mostly that on the day you want to telecast the drama on primetime slot another popular drama was already running and hence you will remain behind in the race of TRP. So getting TRP is not an easy job at all.

Having a look on what’s on in 2014 there are many great dramas running providing you with entertainment throughout the whole week, indeed a great start of 2014 for Drama Industry. Since many interesting dramas are running on primetime slot throughout the week I have decided to show you who is winning and who is behind in the race of TRP in this tough competition.

Monday: Four interesting dramas on this day” Ruksaar” on GEO-TV, “Jan hatheli per” on PTV, “Zindagi tere bina” on Hum-TV and” Mere Apne” on ARY Digital. Unfortunately I am watching none out of these but these four dramas are in intense competition for the TRP. I guess Ruksaar is winning since I am receiving so many reviews about this drama and then followed by Zindagi Tere Bina on Hum Tv. Third is Jan Hatheli on PTV and last is Mere Apne. So Geo wins the race on Monday, Mere apne drama is behind because from its commercial this drama seems like a copy of Indian film Baghban. Do correct me if I am wrong because seriously I am not watching any of these so I have no Idea It’s all my guess.

Tuesday: Only two interesting dramas on this day on prime time slot One is “Pyaray Afzal” on Ary Digital and second “Ranjish hi Sahi” on GEO. Well we have a clear winner with a powerful move and that is ARY and the runner up is Geo. Pyaray Afzal receives each week TRP of more than 6 whereas Ranjeesh Hi Sahi receives TRP in between 3 and 4. The success of Pyaray Afzal is that it is commercially successful with popular cast and with interesting storyline thereby increasing people curiosity each week on the other hand Ranjeesh Hi Sahi was not commercially successful but it is receiving TRP of 3 and 4 because the storyline is interesting and unpredictable.

                                                     VS             

Wednesday: Again a clash of Geo and ARY and again Hum-TV fails to stand in competition. Both channels are intensely competing on this day. Well this time GEO has a powerful move “Aasmano pe Likha” but I guess it will get finished this week this drama had earned the highest TRP of 8.7. On the other hand ARY also got a strong drama “Meri Beti” but sadly this drama fails in direction allowing aasmano pe likha to take over. So Geo is winning on this day but I wonder what Geo will telecast in replacement, anyways Meri Beti drama will also get finished soon in about a month. So after this we will see who will occupy this Empty slot a great chance for HUM-TV to bring something interesting in this slot.

       VS        

Thursday: Again two channels competing on this day ARY and HUM-TV this time Geo fails to stand in competition. ARY is telecasting drama “Sannata” whereas Hum-TV is telecasting recently started drama “Ru-Baru”. Well I am again confused but I guess Hum-TV is in lead currently as Ru-Baru is getting interesting day by day. Talking about Sannata it is always in a competition, from starting it was facing competition with drama AUNN ZARA on A-PLUS and obviously at that time whole Thursday was dedicated to Aunn Zara, then Sannata faces competition with PTV drama “Sanwari” I heard that this drama got the TRP of 8.1. The reason why Sannata was not a hit because it was not commercially successful. So according to my Knowledge HUM is a winner on this day but again do correct me if I am wrong.

      VS         

Friday: When it comes to Friday no one can stand in competition with HUM-TV. Hum-TV owns this day they always had a powerful move on this day and this time it is drama serial “Muhabbat Subah Ka Sitara Hai”. This is the most powerful move of HUM-TV and they always got a replacement examples Maat, Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Kankar. Who is the runner up then and it is ARY telecasting drama “Kabhi Kabhi” and then on third position it is GEO with drama “Meri Zindagi Hai Tu.

Saturday: This day is now simply dedicated to ARY and where every channel got only one powerful move ARY got two one I have already mentioned Pyaray Afzal and second is drama” Shukk”. ARY is a clear winner because no one is in competition in a prime slot and suppose if there was then I guess no drama can beat Shukk this is the best drama currently running on ARY.

Sunday: No question about that for sure HUM-TV is a winner as no one is in competition on this day. If there was I guess it will be a tough competition because” Bunty I Love You” is a very interesting drama and so a strong drama of HUM-TV. So in future if any channel will telecast a good drama on Sunday’s prime time slot it will surely face a fierce competition with this drama. So very intelligently played by HUM-TV by occupying weekends.

So how do you find my analysis and please correct me with calmness for which day my analysis was wrong.

Pakistan idol is a reality singing competition which is another segment of the Idol Franchise fashioned by Simon Fuller.  The production rights for the show are acquired by Geo TV networks and the production has officially started in September 2013 when some of the prominent celebrities of Pakistan industry were chosen to be the judges of the show. Though this show has played an important role in getting back the lost TRPs of the channel, there are a few things that are noticed by the audience every time-every Friday. Here are 4 of my observations, have a look!

Wrong choice of the judges

According to some people signing, Bushra Ansari, Ali Azmat and Hadiqa Kiani as the judges of Pakistan idol is a huge mistake and therefore they are not being liked by as many people as it should have been. People think Bushra Ansari is just good at being an actress and a comedian while some think Rahat Fateh Ali Khan could have been a better substitute for Ali Azmat since he has better understanding of music and much more fan following than Hadiqa and Ali both.

Hadiqa Kiani-an overly dressed celebrity

Though she is one of the most famous pop singers of Pakistan and a great vocalist, her sense of fashion and makeup is very agreeable but it seems like she is taking it up the notch while being the judge of Pakistan idol. She is always found overly dressed and her makeup is sometimes done very horribly making her look dreadful at times. Another dishonor of her wearing illuminati earrings has been a burning topic of debate for many days.

Repetition Of Comments

When criticizing the performance of any contestant, all of the judges use same kind of words and phrases among which words like “feel”, “sur nahi tha” and “acha nibhaya” are encompassed.  No different and exclusive comments makes it very hard for people to understand as to who is better and who is not and if they should give their vote to the deserving person or wait for another one to come.

Anoushey’s Backstage Comparing

Though she is a famous video jockey of Pakistan but it looks like she is failing to do her part as a backstage host Pakistan idol. She is lacking the words, the attitude which is required to fill out the factor of glamour in the show, making it less popular among audience. 

 So these were 4 of my observed predictions, let us now see how many of tour disagree with me on this.

Blessings,

Nida Zaidi

Pakistani dramas have always been a great source of Entertainment for the people of Pakistan, it’s a very proud moment indeed that our dramas does not only provide entertainment to our people but all over the world e.g India, Arab and European Countries. A glance at a past and you will come to know that we use to make wonderful dramas with thought provoking stories. How can I forget Ankahi, Tanhayyian, Dhuwan, Alpha Bravo Charlie etc.

At the start of 2000 our drama Industry went into recession but despite the downfall we were still producing dramas. Then finally Industry got back on to its feet from 2009 when we started making some quality dramas especially under Humayun Saeed’s Production like Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan and Doraha. Now many quality dramas are being produced and telecast by different Production houses making this Industry most Powerful Entertainment Industry.

However I was pondering that despite of making huge amount dramas nowadays there is still some charm missing that was used to be in our old dramas. It is a fact that we love old dramas because our childhood was attached to it but still there were so many things that makes our old dramas better than current ones. To prove it to some extent I decided to make an analysis which differs old dramas from current dramas. So have a look what was happening then and what is happening now.

So I have broken down my analysis into parts that are essential in every drama.

Episodes: For sure every drama means having episodes otherwise it will be called as telefilm. Number of episodes depend upon the story of drama and also on directors and producers for how long they wants to drag it. Now going back to our old dramas normally the dramas were 13-15 episodes long. Now coming back to our current ones and how much our directors and producers love to drag the drama to 25 episodes or more. Seriously through dragging they have spoilt lots of good dramas as the story gets out of focus. Obviously if drama got dragged for no reason then interest will be lost automatically.

Stories: Story generates interest, a drama with good story will obviously attracts people. Of course a good story depends upon the wisdom and intelligence of writers. Nowadays mostly stories are like Hey poor girl I am a rich boy with large business and villa but I love you and wants to marry you and poor girl oh I will think about it. Then after marriage a lottery for girl’s family and hatred by boy’s family and eventually conspiracies begin, through conspiracies girl and boy get separated but after knowing truth they are back together that’s it a happy ending as usual. We still got good writers now like Umera Ahmed so what’s missing? The actual thing which is missing is variety. Previously our dramas have all sort of stories tragedy, horror, comedy, action, romantic and stories focusing on different professions. Sadly now stories revolves around cheating spouses, love triangles, oppressed women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law rivalry or sisters rivalry and stories full of blames and suspicions. Comedy is now very less to been seen I mean how many comedy dramas or sitcoms we produce in a year hardly 1 or 2. Action stories are now totally vanished and no is giving a thought towards action based dramas like we use to have previously for example Dhuwan, Alpha Bravo Charlie and Aahan. It is my sincere request to all writers to please come up with some different stories at least some more wittiest and hilarious stories.

Dialogues: I love you, I hate you, I cannot live without you, you are mine, I will die for you, will you marry me, what are you doing with other women, please come back don’t leave me, get out of my house, Talaaq, Talaaq,Talaaq! Oh don’t worry I was just writing popular dialogues that we use to have now. So again coming back to our writers and their way of writing, when every writers write for the television he/she includes expressive dialogues and the way these dialogues needs to be delivered depends on actors in order to seek more viewers’ attention. In our old dramas there was a habit among writers to include poetic and thought provoking dialogues and pure Urdu Language was used but now the dialogue and dialogue delivery seems to be flat however there are still some good dialogues especially in Umera Ahmed’s Stories. Another thing seems like our writers are now heavily influenced with English Language, English words and sentences are being used more especially when the stories are focused on rich families.

Simplicity: Showing large houses with a Mercedes car and a multi-millionaire business usually a factory seems to be in fashion in our dramas now. Even middle class families have furniture with large cupboards, luxurious and comfortable sofa set and an American style kitchen with a fine crockery. In every story every rich person is running a business mostly a factory and no one is a highly recognised doctor, accountant or engineer or graphics designer seriously only businessmen are rich and no one else being in other field. Looking at our previous dramas the trend to show rich families were less and if there is you can still see a simplicity with no expensive furniture at all.

Dressing Sense and make up: Nowadays actresses looks cool wearing a slim fit wrangely’s Jeans and a dolce and gabbana half sleeve T-shirt. What type of culture are we projecting seriously this is not our culture. If actresses are wearing shalwaar kameez then where the hell duppatta went. Instead of being fashionistas I guess there is a need to more focus on simple shalwar kameez and if they are showing rich families then at least wear long sleeve shirts on regular Jeans. In old dramas rich women were either wearing sarees or branded lawns for example 1993 drama “Marvi”. Now coming on make up 95% of country’s cosmetics you can now see on actresses’ face what a waste of country’s essential asset just to make actresses look skinny and white. Previously talent was considered instead of making actresses look attractive.

Hugging: Now giving a reference to Kanwal’s article we are for sure noticing much cosiness between actor and actresses. Hugging in every single drama was not a problem at all and now slowly drinking and dancing is also getting common current ON-AIR drama Bunty I love you is a great example of it. I wonder that a time will come soon when kissing will not be a problem at all. If this would have happened in old times literally people would protest and obviously dramas are family entertainment if we started to show too much boldness then it is better to switch to internet and watch alone.

Any more differences that you can find out or if you disagree with me then please have your say.

2013 has been a lucky year for the Pakistani film industry as the cinema made a huge money with some hit movies like Waar, Josh and chambaili and as we are moving on with 2014, we can see our film-makers all occupied in making movies that can further improve the movie business. Here are 10 upcoming Pakistani films in 2014 that you should watch. Have a look!

Kambakht:

It is an upcoming action comedy film which is directed by Hamza Ali Abbasi, starring Humayun Saeed, Shafqat Cheema, Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui and Sohai Ali Abro and is all about unlikely friendships that may happen between two complexly different people.

Jalaibee:

It is a feature film which has been directed by Yasir Jaswal and include some of the most prominent actors of Pakistan film industry naming Danish Taimoor, Ali Safina, Adnan Jaffar, Ali Rehman and Uzair Jaswal.

Hijrat:

It is a Pakistani romantic film featuring Asad Zaman and Rabia Butt in the leading film roles and is all about the people and the effect on their lives due to the Afghan War.

Kites Grounded:

It is an upcoming Punjabi film directed by Murtaza Ali and includes stars like Irfan Khoosat, Tasneem Kausar and Abid Kashmiri and is all about traditional kite flying and cities where it is important.

Moor:

It is an imminent Pakistani family film directed by Jamshed Mahmood and is grounded on the deterioration of the railway structure in Pakistan in Baluchistan.

Operation 021:

With the genre of action thriller this movie has been produced by the very famous Zeba Bakhtiar and Azaan Sami Khan and is now under its final stages of editing so it can be released soon.

Strawberry:

It is a forthcoming Pakistani Urdu language art film directed by Abdul Majid Abbasi and Raza Haider and features the famous Pakistani model and VJ Urwa in the main leads and is all about real time events and conspicuous recurrences.

The Dance Diaries:

This is probably the first dance based movie in the history of Pakistani film industry, directed by the famous Omar Hassan and is in associations with the H2O film productions.

Waar 2:

With the popularity and the immense success of Waar, the directors and producers have decided to make another sequel of the movie whose shooting is expected to be in Pakistan along with Russia and turkey. The production of this film is with the collaboration of ARY films and MindWorks Media.

The System:

 It is another action drama film, soon to be relapsed during this year, and has been directed by Shahzad Ghufoor and starring Shehraz, Nadeem Baig, Kashaf Ali, Shafqat Cheema, Irfan Koshart, Ejaz Nayyar and Rabia Tabassum as main leads. 

Let us now see how far these movies go,

Wishes,

Nida Zaidi

Shehanshah-e-Jazbaat or Tragedy King is a term used to describe any male actor who is known to perform tragic and emotional roles on screen. As compared with female roles, the tragic circumstances of male roles are totally different. Female tragedy roles mostly revolve around oppression by society, relatives (saas-bahu). The paradigm for male tragedy roles is different and it mostly revolves around some desperate love or unassailable romance known as ‘nakaam aashiq’. The inspiration of such roles is perhaps folklores of Laila Majnu, Heer Ranjha, where the male protagonist faced a tragic end in the romance.

Our showbiz history start from films and interestingly no one in our country has ever achieved the title of Shehanshah-e-Jazbaat. In films a stereotype hero is considered to be a perfect example of masculinity that is courageous, and cannot be very emotional. Actors like Santosh Kumar, Nadeem, Shaan have performed some sentimental roles, but these were overshadowed by their other powerful roles. Mostly a stereotype hero hides his emotions on screen, or if it happens some other character instantly quotes ‘mard ho kar aurton ki tarah rotay ho’

Only name that instantly strikes to be Tragedy King is off course Dilip Kumar who is a famous actor of Pre-partitioned indo-pak Subcontinent. It is said Dilip Kumar has perfected the role of an emotional hopeless/desperate lover in films. But Dilip Kumar has never acted in any Pakistani film.

Despite always getting inspiration from Indian films, not many films in Pakistan have shown heroes shedding tears on screen. So atleast in films we are deprived of any ‘Shehanshah-e-Jazbaat’.

Coming to dramas, in 1980’s despite some wonderful actors who can nail a serious or emotional role like Abid Ali, Touqeer Nasir, Firdose Jamal, Talat Hussain, Waseem Abbas no one is ever labeled as Tragedy King. But looking at current generation of actors we can sense many who easily qualify for the title of ‘Shenshah-e-Jazbaat’. Dramas of today proved a male role can also be emotional, can be sentimental and also shed tears like a female role and no one quotes ‘aurton ki tarah rotay ho’.

Here is the list of potential candidates of Tragedy Kings of our dramas

Faysal Qureshi

A versatile artist by all means, who has also done many emotionally, charged intense roles. ‘Meri Zaat Zarra Benishan’, ‘Maanay Na Ye Dil’, ‘Meri Unsuni Kahani’, ‘Adhoori Aurat’, ‘Aashti’ ,‘Qaid e Tanhai’, ‘Haal-e-Dil’, are few examples, where for one reason or other Faysal gets emotional and convinces the viewers he is the Tragedy King which was missing in our entertainment industry. A & B production has fair share in crafting the Tragedy King image of Faisal Qureshi.

Faisal Rehman

Another Faisal, another tragedy king, he seems to be tailor made for the role of a tragic desperate lover. Sometimes so desperate, ready to tolerate the affair of his wife like in ‘Maanay na yeh dil’, he himself allowed Aisha Khan to go live with Faisal Qureshi, hoping she will return one day. In drama ‘Maanay naa yeh dil’ both Faisals were there, desperate and crazy to get affection of Aisha Khan, both proved how intense they can be in such roles.

The tale does not end here, ‘Vasl’, ‘Sitam Gar’, ‘Ranjish Hi Sahi’, ‘Khamoshiyan’, Faisal Rehman loves to fall in some unassailable romance and then perfectly depicts his miserable condition. His personality suits more for the soft roles which make him a perfect candidate for tragic roles.

Faisal Rehman started his career from films in 1980, in few films like ‘Beqarar’, he was an intense desperate lover opposite Baabra Sharif; one famous song of this film was ‘Meri wafa meray waaday ka aitbaar karo’.

Imran Abbas

The actor who got fame for his looks and attire, producer eagerly cast him in the role of ‘becharaa larka’. It all started from the role of Goher Mirza in ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’, then ‘Mujhey Apna Bana Lo’, ‘Khuda aur Mohabbat’, ‘Noor Bano’, ‘Dil-e-Muztar’ strengthened his credibility as a ‘rota dhota larka’. But he has also performed different roles like Akbari Asghari, Malaal.

Sami Khan

A talented actor, the day Sami Khan associated himself with A&B productions; there is no end to his ‘bechara pan’. ‘Bol Meri Machli’, ‘Umme Kulsoom’, ‘Meri Laadli’ ,’Tootay huway par’ are some of few examples where Sami proved himself entitled to be a Tragedy King.

Ahsan Khan

Ahsan has also taken the tragedy (‘ronay dhonay walay’) roles to new levels. ‘Saiqa’, ‘Meri Zindagi Hai Tu’, ‘Khoya Khoya Chaand’, ‘Meri Laadli’, ‘Mujhey Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai’ where to start where to end as Ahsan is an evergreen face who appears on screen in all four seasons in all types of roles including the tragic ones.

Moammar Rana

Many question his acting abilities but in films like a stereotype hero, he seldom appeared in a tragic role.  ‘Dil Diya Dehleez’ is a drama when he appeared in a tragic role. But his role in ‘Ishq Ibadat’ was an intense depiction of desperate love, which can draw his name in the list of tragedy kings too. Some other instances of his emotional roles are ‘Roshan Sitara’,’Kalmoohi’

Humayun Saeed

Well few may question Humayun in this list. But here and there Humayun has also perfectly played some intense and emotional roles. The most striking one was the role of Zafar in his first film Inteha opposite Meera in 1999. In dramas, ‘Ishq Ki Inteha’, ‘Tere Liye’, ’Shiddat’, ‘Ishq Junoon Diwangi’ can be quoted as examples where Humayun was seen in intense roles.

This concludes my list of Tragedy Kings. Do share your feedback too.

Thanks

Rashid Nazir Ali

Pakistan Entertainment Industry is expanding day by day each day new talent pours in our Industry. Beside talent and skills what I really like is that every new talent that enters in the acting field is educated which is a great thing. I guess everyone who considers that he/she can act should definitely try in showbiz but after completing his/her education so that they can make themselves safe and secure. Literally people do face problems when they travel abroad because they cannot understand or speak English in a proper way. People who are now currently in showbiz most of them are well educated that means they had made their entry risk free.

Another thing which I have noticed and I am sure others as well that some of our artists are either born or lived mostly Abroad which is appreciable as they are setting examples for others who wants to enter in showbiz. They are proving that education is important irrespective of any field whether acting or some other field. Hence I decided to make a list of some Pakistani Celebrities who are currently in showbiz and had lived and studied abroad.

I am going to divide the list between celebrities who were born abroad and celebrities who had studied or lived abroad. So here are the following celebrities:

                                   PAKISTANI CELEBRITIES WHO WERE BORN ABROAD

MEEKAL ZULFIQAR:

Well for some people he is a heart Throb, definitely a very popular actor nowadays. Meekal was born in 1981 in London, United Kingdom to a Pakistan Father and English Mother. He came to Pakistan in 90’s and finally in 2000 he entered in Pakistan Entertainment Industry.

AHSAN KHAN:

Another talented and popular actor. Ahsan Khan was also born in 1981 in London, United Kingdom. He started his acting career from the film “Ghar Kab Ao Agey” at a very young age and then gradually he had made his mark on television. Besides acting he can do hosting as well.

ARIJ FATYMA:

Arij Fatyma real name Aribah Fatima was born in 1989 in North Carolina, United States of America. She was raised in USA until her family returned to Karachi, Pakistan in 2005. She completed her secondary education from Karachi, Pakistan. Arij started her career as a Model and then finally entered in acting field in 2012. Within a short span of time Arij had proven herself a very talented actress.

SANAM SAEED:

Another British Born actress. She was born on feb 2 in 1985 in London, United Kingdom. However at a very young age her family moved to Karachi, Pakistan. She did her O’Levels from Bay view high school and A-Levels from L’Ecole College, Karachi. She started her career as a VJ and made a debut in acting 2010 from a popular drama DAAM in a negative role. She had also worked for Coke Studio in Season 3 as a background vocalist.

AAMINAH SHEIKH:

Another famous and veteran actress. She was born in New York City, USA but was raised in Karachi and Riyadh. She had done her O-Levels from Karachi and A-Levels from Riyadh. She started her career in early 2000 in Pakistan Entertainment Industry, she had directed a show “bachay mann ke sachay” in which Mohib Mirza was host. She began her acting career from 2007 and is now a successful actress.

MAHNOOR BALOCH:

She was born in United States although her age is still unknown :-D. She is also a Canadian citizen. Mahnoor started her acting career from a drama marvi in 1993 as a supporting role. She is still considered in amongst most beautiful actresses of Pakistan yes obviously the Botox had worked fine on her :-D.

HINA SULTAN:

She is a new entry in drama industy. She was born in Jeddah SAUDIA ARAB, however her family moved to Lahore, Pakistan when she was young. She had studied computer science and mass communication from University of Central Punjab and Kinnaird College. Currently she is doing a short supporting role in drama “Ranjeesh Hi Sahi”. Her main work is hosting, she is hosting a show “Har Pakistani Mein Chupa hai Aik Hero”on Samaa TV.

SANAM CHAUDRY:

A famous irritating actress from drama “Aasmano pe Likha”. She was also born in Jeddah Saudia Arab in August 1991. She is also a graduate from University of Central Punjab.

SARA LOREN:

Previously Known as Mona Lizza before Lip surgery. She was born in Sukkur City, Kuwait in 1985 and was brought up in Pakistan. She started her career as a model and made her debut in acting in 2003 in drama “Rabia Zinda Rahegi” on ARY Digital.

QURAT-UL-AIN BALOCH:

A Pakistani Singer who got famous by singing the popular OST of popular drama “Humsafar”. She was born on 4 march 1988 in Aradan Iran and moved to Pakistan at the age of 3. She did her matriculation from Kehkashan Army Public School, Multan and Bachelors in IT Essentials Multimedia from George Mason University, United States.

ARMEENA RANA KHAN:

She is a Canadian Film Actress who was born and brought up in Canada. She works for both South Asian and European Projects. She is a Pakistani Originate but I had really no Idea why because her father was from Rajasthan India and her mother is Iranian and Pashtun descent. She holds a degree from UK University in Manchester. She will appear in upcoming project “Bin Roye Aansu”.

PAKISTANI CELEBRITIES WHO HAD LIVED ABROAD

FAWAD AFZAL KHAN:

Your own Heart Rob was born in Lahore, Pakistan but had spent his early life in Greece, Saudi Arab and UK. He returned to Pakistan at the age of 12. He did his O-Levels from Lahore Grammar School and Bachelors in Telecom Engineering from National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. Fawad is now one of the famous personality of Showbiz Pakistan.

AYESHA KHAN:

An extremely talented and splendid actress of Pakistan Entertainment Industry. She was born in 1982 in Lahore, Pakistan but had spent much of her childhood in Canada. She made her acting debut in 2000 and had received lots of gratitude on her acting from drama “mehndi” aired in 2003. She made her film debut in 2013 from movie “WAAR”.

JUGGAN KAZIM:

She was born in 1981 in Lahore, Pakistan but had been brought up in Canada. She returned to Pakistan in 2004. She did her bachelor’s degree in Media and Arts from King’s College, Canada.

ANNIE KHALID:

A so-called Pakistani singer and oh how can I forgot she call herself Annie Princess as well. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan but had been brought up in London, United Kingdom.

AINY JAFFRI:

Pakistani Bella, she was born in 1989 in Karachi but mostly brought up in Singapore. She is graduated from McGill University Canada. She became popular from a short college based drama “Dreamers”.

SHAAN SHAHID:

A living Legend of Pakistan Film Industry and a truly respectable actor, writer and director. He was born in April 1971 in Lahore, Pakistan. After completing his early education form Aitchison College, he left for New York, United States and joined Newton High School he returned from USA after 7 years and made a film debut in 1990 in film “Bulandi” along with Reema Khan. His latest famous and highest grossing film was “WAAR”.

Therefore these are the only celebrities in my Knowledge that are from abroad. If you got any other name beside these one then please do share.