Script and screenplay are the backbone of any drama we watch on TV! A megastar star cast can be a gimmick to promote the play, create a hype and attract audience for a few initial episodes of the play but only a strong story-line will make the viewers stick till last episode. During the last few years, our entertainment industry has opened doors and welcomed few novelists on board, that I must say is like a fresh gust of air for the industry, let’s explore three of those female novelists who actually made it BIG on TV in no time!

Umera Ahmad

Don’t have a thing for fantasy, sugarcoated romance and non-realistic comic plays? Do you actually prefer watching plays that genuinely inspire a social change in society?  If you have replied “yes” to both questions then Umera Ahmad is the one writer you are definitely going to savour!

Unveiling the hidden evils of society, presenting them through an engaging story and then summing up the play with a possible solution is Umera’s thing! Her plays Doraha, Maat, Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan, Daam, Qaid-e-Tanhai and others all have a purpose; purpose of bringing a change into the society for good.

Kankar, is one of her recent plays that actually received mix feedback from the audience. The play revolved around a girl Kiran who was stubborn enough to not to surrender and compromise at the cost of her self-respect and individuality. The play wrapped up with a message that there is a fine line between standing up for your rights and being stubborn and that marriage is not the end of a girl’s life. Getting married doesn’t mean that now a girl will have to live only for her husband and in laws but this relationship should be established on the basis of equality for both parties.

Faiza Iftikhar

I remember Faiza Iftikhar as one of the most hilarious and genius comedy writers, of course after watching her beautifully written play Manchalle (starring Sanam Baloch and Danish Taimoor). But comedy isn’t the only genre where Faiza excels; she has given an amazingly beautiful fairy tale play for probably the first time ever to the drama audience of Pakistan in the form of Ek Nayi Cinderella.

Faiza Iftikhar is a versatile writer, who at one point makes her viewers giggle with dramas like Aaun Zara and at other times tries to be more responsible and presents the not-so-pretty side of socitey with plays like Akbar Asghari. Personally I feel, Faiza’s play can be a hit or miss, they can either wow you or disappoint you totally (I’m pointing at Khoya Khoya Chaand).

Farhat Ishtiaq

The queen of romance Farhat Ishtiaq made her television debut with the universally famous play Humsafar. Like her novels, the play recvieved huge appreciation from all across the globe, Sultana Siddquie, the Chief Executive Officer of Hum Networks declared it the best play of all times and honoured the entire team of the play in channel’s official award ceremony. The success story doesn’t end here rather it was just the beginning, Humsafar gained international recognition with it’s telecasting on Indian TV channel Rishte, not only that but the pay was dubbed in Arabic as well.

Farhat Ishtiaq’s another novel, Matta-e-Jaan was also dramatized under the supervision of dynamic Mehreen Jabbar, the play didn’t create as much Ohhs and Ahhs as was expected but it wasn’t a plain flop either. The fact that the screen play for this drama was written by another writer but not Farhat herself shouldn’t be ignored while rating her as writer.

Rehaii was the play where Farhat wrote about anything but romance for the first time ever, The play was disturbing mainly because it aimed to unveil the shockingly bleak side of our society, it proved the versatility of Farhat Ishtiaq.

Bin Roye Ansoo, the upcomming play of Farhat Ishtiaq has already created a buzz around before it’s release. Let’s see if it meets up with audiences’ expectations.

Who is your favourite playwright among these three? Your feedback is appreciated!

Zubia Rizvi.

So, another one of GEO’s attempt of grabbing the attention & TRP’s is Inaam Ghar. This one takes after & more like is a remake of Tariq Aziz’s famous PTV program Neelam Ghar. Neelam Ghar has entertained us a lot just because a learned man like Tariq Aziz hosted it. Back in those days when we had no other channels, Neelam Ghar was the only quiz/game show which had a huge fan following because no doubt the ideas Tariq Aziz instilled in his program were for sure very unique.

So, the modern day Neelam Ghar is Inaam Ghar which is not a bad attempt but isn’t a good one either. Despite the huge studio & modern-day setup, the show lacks the charm. The main face of the show is none other than Dr. Amir Liaqat, who was introduced to the media industry by the GEO Channel itself. As a man who was affiliated with the religious institution of the country, he has remained a controversial celebrity for more than a decade now. I think the thought of reinventing a quiz/game show wasn’t that much of a bad idea but to see Dr. Amir Liaqat host it isn’t appeasing at all.

I must say 10 – 15 minutes of watching the show was enough for me to understand his tangent. The show has a segment named ‘tukka lagao’ where he is constantly repeating the tagline which he used in Ramzan transmission last year & even after getting criticised for it, once again he blurted ‘Musalmanon, tukka lagao’. Jumping from one place to the other, mimicking the girls who replied to him in English, being extra-friendly with the ladies, taunting paunchy old men for their huge waistlines, jumping with younger boys to compete, this is what Inaam Ghar is all about because our very own, very learned, very talented, very genuine & very humble Dr. Amir Liaqat is hosting it.

No doubt he is just a host, who is doing what is asked of or more like what he is capable of but I think viewers must remember that when his behind-the-scenes video got leaked, he was hosting a Ramzan Show for ARY Digital & very conveniently he blamed GEO Channel for fabricating it against him. If he was a man of substance, he would’ve never ever gotten affiliated with the channel once again, but the very next year we saw him back on GEO, working for them ardently. This is enough of an excuse for us all to understand how commercial he is. I think people need to wake up & understand the antics pulled off by him.

I think it’s a high time for us to understand how conveniently he switches his modes just because he wants to be in the limelight. The best way is to boycott such personalities because they do not teach us anything which they think they do & claim to. I think he loves to be controversial & also I have never ever seen him apologize for the wrong he has done & how he has hurt the sentiments of his fans, instead he got away with all his unjustified deeds by blaming others for it. Taher Shah’s bit is another open example of what Dr. Amir Liaqat is capable of & what sort of sense of humour he endorses.

I think to make this show a hit GEO should’ve opted for another host, who wasn’t as controversial or had a decent sense of humour. It isn’t necessary that one has to stoop to a certain level where hosting a show is required. A decent, witty & humble person can always be a better host. Just because Dr. Amir Liaqat is hosting it & without rectifying his mistakes, this show has become a comedy show completely. I think a person like him should learn from his mistakes & must understand what is expected of him because no matter what he likes to be known as a man who has profound knowledge of our Deen so for that he must act responsibly & reasonably. I didn’t find anything positive about Inaam Ghar except the fact that the people were getting sponsored giveaways & I got a chance to laugh my head off because he reminded me of that particular amazing parody of his, released by the 3 idiots Production in July last year.

Decide for yourself & share your thoughts if you have seen Inaam Ghar kyunki Firdous ki lawn appki huiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! :D

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Pakistani drama industry has got a big list of celebrities who are adored for their contributions in the field of acting and Sania Saeed is one of them. Whether it be her Sitara Aur Mehrunisa, her Zaib-un-Nisa, Aahat, reality show Maa or Numm and Aseerzadi now, Sania has always proven that she knows every bit of acting by showing versatility in all her onscreen characters.

 Been born on August 20^th 1975 in Lahore, Sania is often called as ‘Sani’ by her friends and family. Belonging to an educated family of Punjab, Sania is has done B.E. in Psychology from the University of Punjab. For her flawless acting, she has won 2nd Lux Style Award for best actress award, 16th PTV Best Actress Award,3rd PTV Best Actress Award so far.

 Out of so many interviews that I have come across lately, this one is, for sure, the best of all.

 Have a look!

From theater to acting on the small screen, how has the journey been so far?

When I started working for theater it was the early 90s and it was an Indian script called ‘Aurat’ that we reproduced for the Pakistani theater for the 8th of March. That was the beginning of my career as an entertainer. Then I did some theater on and off, but went back my studies. Later I joined NTM as an announcer; in fact I was the first announcer who opened the NTM transmission from Karachi. Then Sahira Kazmi offered me ‘Aahat’ for which I had to leave the job. But the job was not that important for me in any case, so I quit the job at NTM and went for ‘Aahat’.

How was the experience of working with a legend like Sahira Kazmi?

While working with her in ‘Aahat’ I realized that television as a medium has a lot of potential and I really enjoyed working with Sahira especially. There was a lot of interaction, she never treated me like a new actor or a child, and she would not let go of a mistake I made, and corrected me all the time. But in the end it was a learning experience for me. Years later she came to me full of appreciation and said that this is why I never gave you space, because I knew you could do it better.

If acting didn’t work out, what would have been an alternative career for Sania Saeed?

I have been trained to be a psychologist and if I had not ventured into dramas and acting, that would have been my field of choice. The subject interests me and human psychology has so much to it. That is my approach towards my characters as well, to analyze and perform a role by first assessing the psychology of a character. I might have been a teacher or a Vet, as a child I always wanted to be a vet.

Did your family accept it at once that you have chosen media as a career?

 I never had much opposition in whatever I wanted to do. I come from a family where they believe in doing whatever you believe in doing, as long as you can stand by it. I take it as a job as a learning experience where I am still learning. I don’t take what comes as a result of my work too seriously, people’s opinions, especially when you are at college it becomes a lot to take when people come and appreciate you or criticize for the work. I am just not cut out to be a ‘Star’ and I can’t lose my personality to adapt the kind of persona that is requisite to be a star.

 You have been working for a long time now, what changes have you seen in the industry?

This whole nostalgia business that our work used to be very good has more flash back value than real. We go flash back; Tanhaiaan was very good, flash back; Dhoop Kinarey or Aahat were very good. A lot of plays at that time too were very not very good and not very popular. If I ask you to name 10 plays from the 80s and 90s that were very good, you will not be able to do that. So we have just fallen into the habit of saying that the plays used to be much better in the past. There were many plays where the audience did not like the content, cast or acting and it is still the same. There are good and bad plays in every time. We have to accept this and learn to appreciate when people produce quality work because they are putting in a lot of effort and hard work.

 The drama industry has expanded in recent years; do you think the standard has deteriorated due to that?

I think this is all in our head, we are living in flashbacks. Every time we see a drama we go in flashback, Tanhaiyaan was so much better, or Dhoop Kinarey or Aahat for that matter. It is our fault that we have stopped looking at the new productions with an open mind; instead we revisit our past only thinking of a few good plays. If I ask you right now to name a dozen PTV productions from the 80s and early 90s that you can remember, you will not be able to do that. There have been both good and bad productions at every point in time, stop living in déjà vu and start finding the good in what is being done today. This might help the people who put in a lot of effort and energy into their work.

Which projects did you enjoy working on the most in recent times?

From my recent ventures Aao Kahani Buntey Hein has been my favorite project. Kanwal Khoosat had directed it and it is written by Afzal, a new writer, who developed the stories. It is very theatrical and creatively done. The story is of a writer and his wife who develop a story each night. They are the narrators and the actors as well.

 What are your considerations when choosing a project?

I am a storyteller; the first thing I look at is what am I saying and what is the story conveying to my audience. I do not want to do a role that I don’t want to stand by or they go home empty. It’s basically the story, what is the story saying, what impact will it have, what impact my character would have, not a big fan of big jargon and slogans. I like subliminal messages, I like portraying people in different light, I don’t like stereotyping which is what television drama have become. Sometimes even I get stuck with it, because it is your profession and you have to do something, but most times I have been able to avoid it.

There are other people playing an important role in the production, how do you negotiate it with them as how you want to play the role?

I am notorious for debating my character and projects, even though I like most of the people and like to work with everybody. But the kind of process that I want my work to have, not everybody works with that, that’s why I have ended up working with very few directors. In my whole career, which is more than a decade, I have only worked with seven or eight directors.

These days’ people choose to work on so many projects that if you switch channels you won’t know if that is the same play, why have you not done that, does money not as important for you?

This is a decision that you make as an artist and as a professional. What is it that you want to achieve from what you are doing? I have a skill, that I have made my career, I want people to remember me for the characters that I have performed, even if they forget my name, they should remember the plays that I have done and the characters that I have given to them. If I am doing similar plays all the time, then it will be a little difficult to achieve that. I will give my luck a lot of credit that people have come to me with substantial project, with which, by a lot of hard work, I have been able to get my characters recognized. So people remember my characters and the stories that I was telling.

Can you name some of the most memorable plays that you have done?

All the projects that I have done have been so different from each other in experience and have different memories; great memories that I would like to keep. I have learnt a lot from every project, every writer, director and cast that I have worked with. It’s a totally different energy and a totally different experience, so I would not be able to say which one was the most memorable.

How would you like to be remembered?

As an artist who worked hard, gave a lot of hard work, performed some good characters and was good at what she did and told good stories.

You have performed such diverse characters, from a vengeful step mother to a hardworking and caring daughter. What kind of characters do you find the most challenging?

I have to work very hard on my characters, hard in the sense that I want them to be different, I want them to be convincing, and I don’t think it’s a job you can take lightly. There is a lot that can assist the actors in their roles elsewhere, but in Pakistan, it mostly depends on the actor. They depend on the actor a bit too much; you have to establish the whole thing with only your performance. Make it convincing, create a persona, and come up with the get ups and all. So every character becomes invariably challenging for you. Like there was this play Lamha Lamha Zindagi, when I read the script I thought what is it about, what is the story saying? For me it was an inane script, with no impact. My character was crying throughout the serial. But my husband (Shahid Shafaat) was doing it, so he sat me down and asked me how I wanted to portray that character. So without changing anything with the script we managed to turn that character into a very controlled, strong and focused woman. Whose silence speaks for it, she is not cowing under the pressure but her silence became her strength. A lot of women I met later said that the character was all too good and they had told their daughters that a woman should have at least this much pride and grace in her. The character was not a proud in any bad way, but she had confidence in herself and she believed in what she was saying. So the point is that you have to create challenges for yourself and come up to them.

What factors contribute to a play’s success and facilitate you as an actor?

The success of a project depends on the entire team. Sometimes the directors is not that receptive to your ideas and does not let you perform a role in the manner you would prefer to do it. I think the understanding between an actor and other team members is key to a project’s success. The experience differs from project to project and script to script, but it is team work that eventually makes a script into a masterpiece.

What do you think is the biggest issue that we are faced with in our television productions?

The biggest problem at the moment is with scripts, and the stories television is telling people. The stories are bad, they have a negative impact, they are stereotyping men and women, and they are dictating a certain moral code which I don’t think is their business. They are telling the story in a manner that does not leave any questions in your mind, but only reinforces what you have already been told. These stories are not allowing you any thinking space; they are not challenging your already very strongly built belief system, which I think is the need of the day.

Why is it that such stories are being written, do you think the writers suffer a narrow vision?

Most of the plays are written by women and these women I think have a narrow vision. I do not call it good or bad in any manner, it is just their own life experiences which make them build such stories. They probably have spent their lives within the boundaries of this belief system, so they are writing whatever they can see and come up with in this narrow sphere. Television being a huge medium, in terms of its potential and its outreach could have been used to propagate thought provoking stories, which is where we lack. Channels have formed this notion about certain type of stories that this is what sells, this might not be wrong but we are not utilizing the mass medium to its full potential.

 What kind of criticism do you face as a seasoned actress?

I wish we did get criticism. I have been asking all the journalists I meet why they have stopped writing on television? Why there is no feedback for television? Criticism is an art and it is something that you cultivate, that you develop with time. You have to have an understanding to be in the rightful place to criticize. It’s not anyone’s business to do so. I want people to come up with productive criticism, it bothers me that they are either not thinking at all or if they are thinking, they are not able to verbalize it. People who call them critics write with a very superfluous vision, which does not contribute to the productions in any manner.

  Do you think the emphasis on perfecting a role is forsaken, in favor of quantity rather than quality? Who do you think can correct this?

That is true; quality is often compromised for quantity. It is us who can correct this behavior, we have to put our foot down and make them read a script of rehearse. When I am doing a role, I ask the other actors with me that I need rehearsal even if they don’t, none of the actors or directors have refused to rehearse with me. It has to be you who have to stand up to achieve perfection. You are responsible for the kind of developments that are taking place in your profession. Sometimes I may not need to practice a scene but the other actor does, so it’s my professional duty to make them rehearse the scene, so we can perform it convincingly. It about working together and synergy it is not an individualistic art.

Is there a chance that you will take up a movie project in Pakistan?

If they produce a film in Pakistan I will surely act, if offered a substantial role in it.

 As a person how would you define yourself?

I think no one can define themselves, you should ask others, the people we interact with, they might be better able to tell you about me.

You started off your career with plays like Aahat and Sitara aur Mehrunisa, do you think starting off your career from such a high level set you apart from others on a higher standard?

I would never think that way, either it is a very big project or a small one, if I take it up, I will consider it as a challenge and take it forward that way. Why create limits for yourself, when there is a lot more work to be done.

  Why do you think the standard of drama has been compromised? Is it due to extensive commercialization?

The industry is still new, give it some time. It will sift out the bad itself, you have to give it space. And of course productive criticism will also help in sorting things out. You write about something you do not like, once, twice, the third time it appears in print people will give a serious thought to evaluating their stories for that specific element. Don’t blame any individuals or the industry at large, think and come up with ways to reform it.

Hope you all enjoyed reading about her. Please share your views,

Wishes

Nida Zaidi

 If you want affordable cars, affordable clothes, used or totally new stuff and you do not have enough time to go to the malls, then there are several wonderful online shopping sites for you to visit. The main objective of online shopping is to sell the products to the consumers without making them go through the entire tiring mall visits. Online shopping has made our lives easier than anything. In such a hectic daily life, it is very difficult to fulfill your shopping desires, taking out time for malls has become a huge problem this is why most people prefer online shopping where they can buy their desired products at the comfort of their homes. Citizens around the world can gain more information about products and services that are available abroad. The needy customers can browse online shopping catalogues without putting any effort. As the internet is becoming popular day by day, this has increased the trend of online shopping.

The most popular sites for online shopping include Amazon and ebay. In Pakistan many facebook pages are now launched that sell products online. These products include, jewellery, dresses, handbags, cosmetics, shoes and phone accessories. Some of the famour online shopping sites of Pakistan include; OLX and Daraz.pk. The famous facebook pages that sell products online include; Stylista, Glitteratti, Desire accessories, Libaas and many more. Even i prefer online shopping and i have ordered a lot of stuff from these facebook pages. The advantage with these sites is that they offer a wide range of products from different brands or titles, which makes the comparison of goods a lot easier for the consumer. The consumer can browse product categories with different brands and compare prices, features and specifications, quality and performance.

 
There have been many issues regarding online shopping since its launch in the World Wide Web. Most concerns deal with the late deliveries and poor return/exchange policy. Phishing and pharming sites are websites that pretend to be a trustworthy website that traps the consumer by acquiring their very sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and credit card details for criminal intentions. So always remember that Internet scams exists online just like in the real world. Always be cautious of the websites you intend to do Online shopping from. On the contrary, shopping online with your credit card is safe as long as you deal with a trusted retailer who maintains a verified site and apart from this you must also buy products from a place which you already know or you have heard of is trustworthy. Since 2000, businesses are becoming more and more interested with online visibility. Even bookstores and supermarkets have launched online shopping as a new medium that targets the consumers that are unavailable to visit the store and provide them the convenience of on-time deliveries and secured transactions. If you are interested to purchase items online for the first time, it is important to consider the websites reputation, the extensive product information and availability online, the speed of ordering process and shipping, discount availability, return-exchange-refund policy, and especially the payment scheme. Online shopping websites require credit card payments, but you can email them if they have other options. Other websites have other means of payment transaction like debit cards, electronic money, cash-on-delivery, cheques, wire transfer, postal money order, and PayPal/ Xoom. The biggest advantage is of the cash on delivery option, consumers have to wait for their order, see if its perfect and then pay the amount. This offer usually attracts thousands of consumers.

Everything has its pros and cons, online shopping is considered as something that is helpful but on the other hand some psychiatrists say tha increased addiction of online shopping leads to compulsive shopping disorders. In this disease the patient starts to give priority to online shopping and starts ignoring everything else. Online shopping is usually considered just a hobby but it becomes an addiction when online shopping begins taking over your daily life. The addicts when not engaged in online shopping, start thinking about it and seem to be in a whole new imaginary shopping mall. This sounds funny but it is a fact. They often start to overspend and buy useless items. They tend to neglect their jobs and families. They lie about their purchases and what they spent and as a result they accumulate massive amounts of debt which lead to depression and anxiety. Treatments for this disorder focus on learning how to manage this addictive behaviour. This type of shopper needs to find what causes him to spend, and learn how to avoid those triggers. Erasing any saved credit card information from all websites is also highly recommended. Most importantly, the addict must set his or her own money and time limits. Excess of everything is bad this is why we should know how to balance stuff in our lives, when we get to know this trick then life becomes a whole lot easier.

Written by: Moomal Hassan.

Faiza Mujahid’s music is not about numbers. Since her coming-out party, with the film Khuda Ke Liye’s soundtrack, she says her work ethic has evolved more towards relating to the music she makes. There was a time when she wanted to make music for herself, to release albums and singles. Today, however, that is not the case and she has come to terms with that.

“There was a time when I wanted to make music my bread and butter, but I realised that there is no music industry to speak of, it caters to people who have already made it,” Mujahid tells. It’s been three years since Meri Zindagi was released, which presented her as one of Pakistan’s ultimate rock chicks. The song was very personal to her and seemed to connect well with her own place in life and her search for independence.

She laughs and says that she was in her 20s and going through a time when she felt that women in our society have a set timetable. The song had the sort of success that she didn’t realise would happen.

“It was really interesting because of the type of responses I got. There were many young girls and women who emailed me about how the song had given them motivation,” says Mujahid. That’s why her latest single Uth Oye is interesting. It doesn’t necessarily move beyond the phase of her 20s but it engages with, and tries to bring about, a sense of positivity to the picture. After three years in the shadows, Mujahid is restructuring her career priorities, and is approaching music in a different manner.

“People are always so negative. My idea now is that even if you know about the negative things, you should be thinking positively and being positive,” says Mujahid. Uth Oye has a sort of anthem feel to it, and the video tries to articulate Mujahid’s positive frame of mind.

“I can say this is my anthem. I don’t think I set out to make anthems or anything, but it’s how I feel, and these are things I feel strongly about and believe in, so people do find it motivational.”

The song is written and composed by Haider Hashmi, a good friend of Mujahid’s. The singer gave Hashmi full freedom to use his words to express what she was feeling. She says the experience has been fulfilling, since she is now making music on her own terms. The video showcases the stories of three females who have touched people on many levels.

Take for instance Farah Deeba, the 26-year-old who started an initiative to educate and provide schooling to underprivileged children at the tender age of 20. Today, her institute Alam Bibi Welfare caters widely to the underprivileged. The video also shows Sabira Sultana, a former burns’ victim who is now a patient coordinator at Depilex Smileagain Foundation. Sultan has overcome trauma to provide inspiration to many other women.

Haider Hashmi, who is best known for his cornerstone role in the band Aaroh, which is also making a slow comeback, said “I felt that the feeling had to be one of hope or umeed, since I had wanted to write for women who have to struggle so much on a daily-basis, so the idea was to portray the feeling that you cannot let anything bring you down,”. He also disclosed that he would be working on more projects with Mujahid, and that they had already penned a number of other songs.

Do you think she is right when she says “There is no music industry to speak of”

Drop your comments and feedback

S. Rasool