Audiences of our Television industry have grown in the past decades. Pakistani shows are not only watched in Pakistan but by Pakistanis and other nationalities living all over the world. They have won everyone’s heart because of their quality story, beautiful direction and realistic acting. But as they became more popular many preconceived or stereotypical notions developed among the audiences. These notions are infectious and they spread among the audiences like wild fire. They change the mindset of many people who had not even thought about them before. Here are a few preconceived notions of our audiences:

Any novel based show is a must watch!

Audiences have become biased when it comes to watching shows. One of the top categories for watching a show is that it should be written by popular novelist like Umera Ahmed, Faiza Iftikhar, Farhat Ishtiaq, Razia Butt who have given us popular shows like Humsafar, Shehr e Zaat, Dastaan, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Meri Zaat Zarre Benishan, Najia, Saiqa, Aik Nayee Cinderella, Haroon Toh Piya Teri and the list goes on. It is true that novel based dramas are good and people have high expectations from them but most of the time, the script of the drama is very different from the actual novel which disappoints the audiences and they complain about it. If only they would stop expecting from novel adopted dramas and give new writers a chance then the viewership of many other shows would increase.

Once a hit always a hit!

Another common belief among the audiences is that once an actor/director gives a hit, they are supposed to give hits all the time. It is normal for the expectations of the audiences to rise after a show becomes a hit but they need to understand that hits and misses are common in our industry. You cannot expect directors/actors to give one hit after the other. If some shows are brilliant, the others may not be able to match up to that standard. One of the examples would be of the popular director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, the expectations from him rose to a very high level after his blockbuster show Humsafar, he was immensely praised for his work and was tagged as one of the best directors in the industry but as soon as people saw the show Ashk which was also directed by him, the tag went down the drain and apparently he was a huge disappointment! Another example would be of Haissam Hussain, audiences could not stop praising him for his brilliant direction in Dastaan but as soon as they saw Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan Bhi Tha, he was highly criticized for his work. The audiences need to understand that a show consists of many elements like story, screenplay, acting, direction and last but not the least good editing. All these factors combine together to make a good show and one person is not responsible for a show being a hit or a flop. To expect them to give one hit after the other only manages to pressurize them and they go as far as disowning their flop shows as with the case of Sarmat Khoosat who refuses to talk about any of his flop shows (especially Ashk).

The shows with the clichéd story lines are the worst!

Another preconceived notion of many audiences is that shows based on the concept of step-mothers, evil mother–in-laws and second marriages are just not worth their time. When they see the promos, the only thing that comes to their mind is ‘Oh God… not the same story again’ but the amusing part here is that the shows with such clichéd concepts are highest rated dramas. We get to hear a lot of criticism and complain from the audiences in the beginning but these are the people who eventually watch it too! This is what we call hypocrisy! The recently aired show Aik Tamanna Lahasil Si which was based on the concept of evil mother-in-law was one of the highest rated dramas during its airing time. Other examples include Mera Yaqeen and the currently popular show Daagh; both are based on the concept of second marriages. Audiences complain that the shows are too depressing for their taste, but they are the ones who watch it and increase the ratings. The reason why we get to see the same concepts over and over again is because it is liked and watched by the masses.

Oh it’s a Momina Duraid Production; I will watch it for sure!

Another common practice among the audiences is to judge shows by their production houses. I agree that Momina Duraid, A & B productions and Humayun Saeed production houses are the best production houses in our industry but they are not the only production houses. These three production houses rule the industry with an iron fist and people prefer to see shows from these production houses only. The reason why they attracted so many viewers is because of the quality of shows they offered. However, new production houses with good quality shows are emerging to compete with these popular banners. One of the emerging production houses is Natak Entertainment, Producers of the show Ghaao which is currently airing on Geo TV. This production house definitely has a future!

A big NO for any other channel except Hum TV, ARY and Geo TV

Another preconceived notion of our audiences is that quality dramas are only offered by these three channels. If someone had asked me this question a few years ago, I would have agreed wholeheartedly but now many other channels have emerged who have much to offer to the audiences. The new emerging channels are Aplus and Express entertainment. Aplus is offering quality dramas such as Barf and Koyla Hogai Main while express is offering shows like Talkhiyaan, Tishnagi and Sirat e Mustaqeem. Even PTV has improved a lot in past few years and is offering quality shows, but few people watch it as they have created a mindset of their own. All we need to do is change our mindset! Gone are the days when these three channels ruled the Television industry…

Mariam Shafiq.

The private channels have given a boost to the new projects, keeping the audience entertained with something or the other. These days it seems like Sanam Saeed is enjoying a great time in her career and no doubt, she deserves that equally. Though her acting is much popular for her current drama Zindagi Gulzar hai, her another drama which is been aired on Express entertainment, Talkhiyan is also one of her magnificent pieces of work. Here are the few random snaps from the set of Talkhiyan, Have a look!

Share your views about the serial,

Best Wishes

Nida Zaidi

Saba Hameed is one of the most popular veteran actors of Television Industry. She has been seen in the most popular drama serials like Dastaan, Main Abdul Qadir Hoon, Qaid e Tanhai, Aks, The Baraat series and the recently ended show Aik Tamanna Lahasil Si. It would not be wrong to say that she is the vamp of our drama industry. She is usually seen in negative or grey shaded roles which are played to perfection by her. However, she has also shown versatility by doing positive roles in Dastaan and the Baraat series and a comic role in the show Family Front. Saba has proved time and time again what a brilliant actress she is. Her acting is so natural that you want to hate her when she plays a negative role but you also cannot help but love her in her positive roles. This actress who is in her late 50’s (believe it or not) has impressed everyone with her talent.

Her family is filled with talents of all sorts. She is the daughter of a renowned columnist and writer Hamid Akhtar. She has two kids from her first marriage to Syed Pervaiz Shafi; Meesha Shafi and Faris Shafi who are both equally talented like their mother. Her second husband Waseem Abbas is also renowned actor of our industry. However, they are divorced now. (Not sure if this is a rumor or actually true!)

Meesha Shafi:
Meesha Shafi is the daughter of Saba Hameed and has made her own name in the entertainment industry. She is a singer, actor as well as a model.
She started her career by appearing in Jawad Ahmed video Bin Teray Kya Hai Jeena. She started her career as a model soon after that. She was the spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris Pakistan and has appeared in International magazines such as Vogue. She then entered the television industry and was seen in shows like Muhabbat Khawab ki Soorat and Ye Zindagi To Woh Nahi. Her biggest career breakthrough was when she signed the Hollywood movie, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. She was seen alongside popular actors like Kate Hudson and Liev Schreiber in the movie. She will also be seen in the Bollywood movie, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Her versatility did not end here. She then tried her luck in singing and was the lead vocalist in the band called Overload. And who can forget her famous song from Coke Studio Jugni Allah Wali which she sang alongside Arif Lahor. It is the most popular Coke Studio song yet with about 10+ million views on YouTube. She also contributed to the soundtrack of her movie, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Faris Shafi:
Faris Shafi is the son of Saba Hameed and Syed Pervaiz Shafi. He started his career as a rapper/singer and is known for his video Awaam. He is another addition to the talented family of Saba Hameed. He then tried his luck in acting and was seen in the popular show Manjali which aired on Geo TV. It came as a surprise when I got to know that he is the son of Saba Hameed and that too after the show Manjali ended! He performed well for a newcomer and we hope to see him in other shows too.

His second video Tere Bina was not as successful as his first video but it did manage to entertain the viewers. His videos cannot compete with the Saeein AKA Ali Gul Pir’s standard, but they have made loyal viewers of their own.

Waseem Abbas:
Waseem Abbas is the second husband (or ex husband) of Saba Hameed and he is also the son of the popular actor Inayat Hussain Bhatti. He is a famous veteran actor and director. He started his career in the 1980’s and is seen in films like Badaltey Mausam, Manzil and Zara Si Baat. He has done many TV shows such as Family Front, Landa Bazaar, Mera Saeein 2 and is recently seen in Zindagi Gulzar Hai. He had taken a break from acting and resumed it after many years with the show Mera Saeein 2. He will also be seen in the show Kaala Jaadu very soon.

Mariam Shafiq.

With the world getting modern each second, the rituals and the traditions are also changing accordingly.  What our parents used to like in their childhood was what that completely differed to our hobbies and interests and similarly, the kids of today have their own life in which they have new trends, which is obvious and  quite understandable too. However, what makes this topic relevant enough to be discussed is the fact that are the children of today know a little too much than what they should know in their age?  Let us see in detail.

Going back to few years, say 90’s, children and the childhood seemed much civilized.  Getting up at 7am and doing breakfast watching the daily telecast of DODO cartoon on STN (the only private channel that kept the people of the nation entertained along with PTV) and leaving for school, having the sweet thoughts of how amazing the cartoon series were, was certainly bliss. Returning from the school and taking nap with an excitement to get up at 5 to watch the Cartoon Network which used to be aired on STN for two hours. Watching Camp Candy and Tom and Jerry had its own charm in every way. While the children used to enjoy two dedicated hours of the channels, parents too, on the other hand, used to be much relaxed about the secured content been watched by their children.  All in all, watching television was a source of entertainment and not a source of living as it has become now.

If you analyze the blessings of few channels in past, you would see that the children were far better students in the past as compared to now. There were special magazines been printed for the kids like Taleem-o-Tarbiyat and Hamdard Naunehal that encouraged the young learners to pay attention on their reading and understanding skills!  Even watching news was a part of learning where students were been directed by their teachers to watch the News been aired at 9pm, where students could learn about the current happenings within the country and the world, which is now obviously pretty different these days.

Now that the world has taken new moves in every sense, the living standards and the life styles have also changed drastically. These days the routine of the children is such that a child sleeps late at night, probably because he is either watching Big Boss late at night or his favorite movie and gets up late for school, often feeling dizzy and mentally tired. Leaving for  school without breakfast and spending at least half an hour in dressing up like John Abraham and setting up the spikes (The mountains as I call them) over their  head. The class discussions are no more limited to the course but often revolve around the latest movies, the celebrity updates and the latest songs. Now that the media has grown much rapidly, no household can avoid the melodramas and the weird topics that are enough to make children someone above their age.

The 24/7 telecast of Cartoon Network, Nick, Disney, etc., has made the cartoon world a less interesting place as now children are much interested in the daily soaps and the love stories that are a must-to-have part. Think about the serial Cinderella, isn’t it funny to change the entire theme of the fairytale under the same slogan? Think about the new spiderman drama where a mother-in-law keeps on sticking to her son’s room, never leaving a chance of privacy. I mean, this is something that is not only dangerous for the nourishment of the little minds but also a threat to the literature and history.

The question still remains, do the children know more than they should, according to me, yes, and thanks to media for this. Even if we skip the drama industry for now, the news and the street shows are enough to do the remaining task. Take my example, I didn’t know anything about the gay society till my O levels, Too dumb of me I guess, but now there are  special shows with bold headings going on, showing interviews of the gays and the live shoot across the streets. How does it possible that first you show everything to the young minds and then expect them to stay away? There are families who do not approve  such shows in front of their children but again, for how long they can protect them from watching the 24/7 online dirt? It’s merely impossible!

Children are becoming bold, losing the sense of boundaries and even a grade VI student can identify whether his teacher is pregnant or not. These are the facts that seem quite absurd to hear or to talk about but really, there is a serious need of recalculating our moral values.

The Media is not the only one to be blamed here, but an overall change of mentalities is needed in the country. Being a part of a Muslim state, it is important to match the fakeness of today with the reality of the religion-and-civilization.

Share your views and Protect your  Child!

Blessings,

Nida Zaidi

All of you must know by now that this year Hum TV has decided to have its own award function, the nominations for the viewer’s choice award have been made public. Nida already mentioned in her post that out of 32 categories, seven are for the viewer’s to decide who will bag an award. Since my primary interest is in dramas only so I want to share with all of you how I felt about the nominations for viewer’s choice related to the drama industry. First of all lets discuss the nominations for best drama. The nominations are

Best Drama

Maat

Shehr-e-Zaat

Mere Qatil Mere Dildaar

Yahan Pyar Nahi Hai

Roshan Sitara

Bari Apa

Why are plays like Roshan Sitara and Mere Qatil Mere Dildar there and not Hamsafar, Durr-e-Shehwar or Bilquees Kaur? Hamsafar may have been criticized by the critics for its cliché storyline and the stereotyped characters but there is no denying the fact that it was one of the most popular dramas of its time. Hamsafar was not only popular in Pakistan but also in other countries where people watch Pakistani dramas.
Durr-e-Shehwar had amazing dialogues, the direction was flawless, the underlying message was in line with our social norms and the acting was top notch, but it almost seems like Durr-e-Shehwar has been left out on purpose, although I see no reason for it except that two of Umera Ahmed’s plays have been nominated already so they did not want to nominate a third one. Bilquess Kaur is another play that deserved to be nominated much more than a drama like Roshan Sitara in particular that was a complete flop because the storyline totally went haywire.

Now take a look at these nominations

Best Actor Female

Mehwish Hayat For Mere Qatil Mere Dildaar

Saba Qamar For Maat

Mahira Khan For Shehrzaat

Sania Saaed For Zard Mausam

Sanam Baloch For Roshan Sitara

Savera Nadeem For Bari Apa

I was definitely expecting that Bushra Ansari would be nominated for Bilquees Kaur but like Durr-e-Shehwar, Bilquees Kaur has also been left out of the nominations although both the plays were incredibly popular among public and these are after all nominations for viewer’s choice! Sanam Baloch has been nominated for Roshan Sitara and not Durr-e-Shehwar, which is somewhat unfair because had she been nominated for Durr-e-Shehwar she had a far greater chance of winning this award. I am not entirely happy with Mehwish Hayat’s nomination too because I think Syra Yusef’s and Sadia Imam’s performances were far more powerful in Bilquees Kaur.

Here is the next category

Best Actor Male

Ahsan Khan For Mere Qatil Mere Dildaar

Adnan Siddiqui For Mere Qatil Mere Dildaar

Noman Ejaz For Bari Apa

Mikaal Zulfiqar For Shehrzaat

Imran Aslam For Sanjha

Faisal Rehmaan For Zard Mausam

Ahsan Khan for Mere Qatil Mere Dildar and not Bilquees Kaur? Mikaal Zulfiqar for Shehr-e-Zaat and not Durr-e-Shehwar? So is Durr-e-Shehwar not going to be nominated in any category and neither is Bilquees Kaur? I am sure many of the viewer’s would have much rather chosen their favorites out of these two plays than any other play.

The last drama related category in Viewer’s Choice is

Best On-screen Couple

Fawad Khan & Mahira Khan For Humsafar

Mikaal Zulfiqar & Mahira Khan For Shehrzaat

Ahsan Khan & Mehwish Hayat For Mere Qatil Mere Dildaar

I may sound like a die hard Durr-e-Shehwar fan but in my opinion Mikaal Zulfiqar and Sanam Baloch deserved to be in this category too. And I would much rather have the option of voting for Ahsan Khan and Syra Yusef for Bilquees Kaur rather than Ahsan Khan and Mehwish Hayat.

These were just some random thoughts about the nominations. What do you people think about these nominations? I think Durr-e-Shehwar, Bilquees Kaur and Hamsafar deserved a little more recognition.

Fatima Awan.