Pakistani entertainment industry is full of talented personalities that have won millions of hearts through the versatile performances and contributions. Pakistani youngsters have started following the native channels idealizing the people and wanting to be like them. These celebrities pose a negative icon to the people round the globe when they are misfit in terms of height, facial freshness, weight, and experience wardrobe malfunctioning. Influence of some of the style icons is under great threat as the following celebrities definitely require an urgent makeover. This includes Saima, Omer Sharif, Fahad Mustafa, Meera, Resham, Zaalay Sarhadi, Nirma, Amina Haq, Tehmina Khalid, Farah Hussain and etc.

The clock strike 9 in the morning and the Pakistani audience is given a list of various morning shows to choose from. This trend of morning shows started from the famous Nadia Khan Show on Geo TV. Since then the morning shows have been much watched and have blended elements of interviews of most desirable celebrities, discussions of fashion trends, beauty tips, etc. However, the increasing competitive morning shows in race to increase their ratings have compelled the morning shows to try new stuff for their audience to stay glued to them and attract many others.

Although it was not in my plans to write any more about the new trend of importing foreign dramas which has been followed by few local channels (that we, as a devoted audience used to follow few days back, believing that the channels represented our own culture, our own people), What I just saw now forced me to share this. The news is big enough to take few minutes of your life.

Pakistan is full of talented people with versatility in the things they do and how they do it. The best example is the pakistan drama industry where a person can be a model, actor, singer director and writer simultaneously. This multi-talented pool of celebrities has not only made their names shine in pakistan but most have managed to gain an international reputation both for them as well as for pakistan. There has been a fast paced development of singers shifting towards acting and all of them have been exceptional in their onscreen performances. The fan following for these famous personalities has enhanced tremendously. We hereby scan the heart throbs of millions of people who have impressed us with their vocals and have surprised us with their acting skills.

There has been uproar since Turkish Dramas started launching on every other Pakistani channel. It was initiated by Urdu1, then Express followed it and now Geo TV introduced a new show Noor. I doubt people will stop watching Pakistani Dramas just because a few Turkish shows were launched. Pakistani Dramas will always remain our first priority. Pakistani Drama viewership is too strong to be affected by a few foreign shows but I would agree with the Pakistani stars that have raised their voice against these shows, that it is unfair to them.

Noor is a hit Turkish drama and has been dubbed in various languages and played all across Arabic countries. It was originally aired in 2005-2007. Its original name is “Gümüş” but was aired with the title Noor in the Arabic World and become a household name everywhere. It has also been played in countries like Saudi Arabia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania with different titles. It would not be wrong to say that it is the ‘Humsafar’ of the Arabic World. In Saudi Arabia alone, 3-4 million viewers admit to watching the program daily on the Saudi-owned MBC channel. The show’s final episode attracted a record 85 million Arab viewers. In Bulgaria, Noor was also very popular and every episode was watched by at least 2 million viewers. This show encouraged Arabs to visit Turkey and meet their favourite stars, Kivanc and Songul.

The Turkish drama Noor revolves around Mehmet played by Kivanc Tatlitug, who belongs to a rich family which is completely dominated by his grandfather. Mehmet has lost his love Nihat in a car accident and he had never recovered from the shock, his life has become meaningless ever since. His grandfather forces him to marry Noor (Songul Oden), a simple girl from a small town. Mehmet ends up leaving Noor at the altar, but eventually marry her but never truly accept her because for him she was ‘not his wife but his grandfather’s daughter in law’. The story is about Noor’s struggle to make a place in Mehmet’s life and become familiar with the ways of living of the upper class family.
I liked the OST of Noor. Its melody is beautiful and catchy. It is composed by Waqar Ali and sung by Alycia Dias. The melody is taken from the original drama and I must say it is beautiful.

The first episode seemed interesting. The play is very well dubbed in Urdu. And the main attraction of this show is Kivanc Tatlitug, who has become popular in Pakistan through his show Ishq e Mamnu, which went off air recently. Another of his show Manahil aur Khalil also launched on Express the same day as Noor. Will both these shows manage to make a place in viewer’s heart? I foresee a neck to neck competition between these two shows.

Geo TV has invested a lot in its promotion. You can see the advertisement played in every break. Will it be as famous as Ishq e Mamnu? Well the answer is ‘only time will tell.’

Mariam Shafiq

Lately most of us have discussed about the negativities that are being shown in our dramas & almost all the viewers condemn it, but it’s been a while that we’ve spoken about the positivity & those qualities that make us all fall in love with our dramas. It’s my little effort to recollect the memories & the positive feelings that we have about our dramas & what are exactly those things that make us end up being such a die heart fan of our Pakistani dramas.

I believe taking names of certain dramas would confine the main reason of this article because no matter what it’s an undoubted fact that Pakistani Drama Industry has produced thousands of dramas that are beyond perfection, so mentioning a certain drama wouldn’t help as we’d definitely be leaving a lot of dramas unnoticed plus I am talking about our dramas as a whole because if one drama has a good story the other has good dialogues, so let’s talk about our dramas in general.

1. The very first thing that I feel has always been a pillar in the popularity of Pakistani Dramas is a “SCRIPT”. All this while whenever we talk about even the olden golden dramas of Pakistan or even the new ones I feel those dramas always get a special attention of the viewers because of a good script. Everyone demands a perfect script & those dramas especially who have a good storyline/script no doubt end up being the favourite of the viewers.

2. Second in my list would be the “RELATE-ABLE CHARACTERS”. I feel this is another beauty of our Pakistani dramas especially that we always see the characters which are relate-able & quite original. We don’t have to see the lead actors in over-done make ups & top-notch wardrobes but it’s the originality and simplicity that does wonders & we end up liking any drama because I feel characters play another important role in making a drama connect to the viewers.

3. Third in my list would be “THE DIALOGUES . We have seen so many dramas over the years whose dialogues have always been appreciated because that’s the beauty of our mother tongue Urdu. We definitely haven’t seen hardcore Urdu being used in any of our dramas but it’s the simplicity & the easiness of conveying a certain message that gets clicked to the audience. Even at times such heavy feelings are conveyed with so much ease & smoothness which actually shows the versatility of our language.

4. Fourth in my list would be “THE REALITY” that our dramas are popular in getting across to the viewers. Any good drama that we see is always based on the reality & if not, it’s closer to reality as well. But I feel any drama that gets hit is definitely the one which the viewers see as real & not superficial because while watching a drama viewers tend to get so involved & at times feel pretty much in relation to a certain drama which I feel also plays an important part in the success.

5. Fifth & the last in my list would be “THE CAST”. The viewers are obviously keen to see their favourite actors perform on-screen & I feel that is also another reason of a success of any serial. A good cast definitely plays a vital role. The cast can also be referred to as a a good actor. The responsibility to project the beauty of any character lies solely on how the actors acts it out. If an actor can not act a certain character, he/she ends up spoiling the whole thing related to that particular character & I feel Pakistan has numerous great actors both males & females who have done & have been doing justice to the characters they are assigned with.

So, these are the factors in my list which I feel are the backbone of our dramas getting successful all these years. I hope I was able to point out the major aspects that make our dramas famous. If you all have any other suggestions that you feel play a part towards the success of our dramas, please feel free to share it with us because it’s been a while that we haven’t discussed about the positives & the good things about our dramas. I’d be looking forward to your comments. :)

Keep Supporting,
Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Here comes the most interesting list of the year, the top 20 most popular men of Pakistan. According to the survey been conducted by a reputed paper magazine of the country, it has been concluded that the following 20 male celebrities are considered to be the most hottest and popular personalities within the country. Although the list seems quite diversified, covering different niches all in all, but no doubts about the fact that these are the men who have contributed greatly in the success of the industry, and off course, the country. Have a look on the best 20 men of Pakistan in 2012!

Until now I have discussed numerous actors in many different ways. We have had a chance to talk about promising newcomers, versatile actresses, characters I hold very close to my heart and actors who don’t age but today I would like to share my thoughts about those new artists who failed to impress me. Many of you may disagree with me and your opinion is more than welcome. I would like it if you could also support what you say with arguments and in that way you may be able to convince me too.

Unfortunately these newcomers have spoiled many superbly written scenes for me so I thought it was important to make a list of these very good looking but disappointing actors. I am not saying that all these actors lack talent but I seriously believe that they need some training and learning before they can finally make their mark. Acting, like any other skill is something that needs to be learned and unfortunately we do not have too many training academies for actors in our country. Therefore, in the past also we have seen many actors who may have seemed like total failures in the beginning but turned out to be brilliant actors after they got some exposure. So, there is definitely hope for these stars but for now they are ruining the drama watching experience for me. So here it goes:

Shehryaar Munawar:

Believe it or not this gentleman was on top of my “Promising New Actors” list when Mere Dard Ko Jo Zuban Miley went on air, now that is what I call ironic! After watching him win our hearts as the cute and adorable Urooj, I was waiting anxiously to watch him set the screen on fire once he showed us just how good his dialogue delivery was. But it was not meant to be,when Shehryaar Munawar made his appearance in Tanhiyaan Nayee Silsilay I was shocked by his dialogue delivery and expressions as well. It is obviously up to the director to extract the best out of any actor but when the rest of the actors seem to be spot on with their acting; one finds it difficult to put the blame on the director. Or it could be that he needed a little more guidance than he was given. It seems like Shehryaar Munwar doesn’t know how to change his voice in order to evoke the right emotions and his expressions seem to be misleading too. I am hoping that Shehryar Munawar gets on track soon because he has the looks and the confidence it takes to be a star.

Sara Khan:

Sara Khan’s first project Bari Apa has a stellar cast but that does not mean that I am merely disappointed in her acting because she is working with some very talented actors. Sara khan is playing Sharmeen in the play and although the character is one which should get the sympathy of the audience but Sara Khan has failed to deliver. She fails to give the right expressions and although her facial muscles are in action all the time but she is not into the character or the situation at all. There are times when Sara Khan did deliver but I must say that a newbie like her should have started off with a smaller project so that she could learn as she went along.

Mustafa Changezi:

If one looks at Mustafa Changezi’s background he has a lot going for him. He has performed in theatre and has done modeling too; therefore he has ample exposure of the camera already. Mustafa Changezi plays Adeel in Bari Apa and although every time I sit down to watch a new episode I want to be convinced that he can act but the fact is that his dialogue delivery is beyond disappointing. All one can do is wonder what he is doing in a big project like Bari Apa. I think the first step towards becoming an actor is mastering dialogue delivery and the second is to perfect your expressions, unfortunately Mustafa Changezi lacks in both.

Arij Fatima:

Arij Fatima has a very pretty face and she is a wonderful model. I saw her playing Milli in Sabz Paree Laal Kabooter , then she starred in Mahi Aye Ga and now she is playing the lead in Mar jaye Bhi Tu Kiya. Although Arij Fatima has not been as big of a disappointment as rest of the actors I mentioned on top but sometimes it seems like she acts more than she needs to and in my opinion there are many other more talented actresses like Maheen Rizvi who deserve to play the lead role on the serials being aired on leading TV channels. But I am quite certain that it won’t take Arij Fatima long to turn into a good actress.

Shehzad sheikh:

Shehzad sheikh comes from a very talented family and I had very high expectations from this gentleman. When I heard he was playing the lead in Mi Raqsam I was quite sure that he must deserve that spot but I have to say that only after watching a few episodes of the play it became difficult for me to sit through an entire episode because the hero failed to impress. Shehzad sheikh is another actor who needs a little more guidance and training before he can play a lead in any play. I wish him a lot of success in the future but for now he has failed to impress me.

What do you think about all these actors, like I said before I know that many people like some of the actors in the list and will disagree with me, so feel free to share your opinion. Also, if there is a newcomer who hasn’t come upto your expectations please feel free to add to the list.

Fatima Awan.

There was a time when people used to question technological advancements and were not willing to accept them wholeheartedly but now technology is not just widely accepted but very warmly welcomed too. Whenever there is a new innovation, people ask what is next, even before they have fully exploited the technological devices already available. I remember when I was a kid I used to find it almost unbelievable that there will be a day when we will have phones which will enable us to see the person we were having a conversation with. At that time it seemed far fetched but the rapid pace with which technology is advancing in the given age nothing surprises me and everything is believable. ( I am not sure what to write after this sentence *sigh* or *cheers*?)

When I was growing up there used to be one or not more than two landlines in one household. There was absolutely no concept of cell phones and when the cordless phone was introduced many families did not prefer it because they wanted to keep a check on their teenage kids especially. With the phone set in one specific place, it was easy for the parents to monitor who their kids were interacting with and how long the conversations lasted. The kids in those days had very little privacy and the grown ups had a lot of control. If a parent did not want his child to associate with someone they would just tell that person that the child was busy or not home until they stopped calling. The parents picked up from the children’s conversation what was going on in their lives and very often they ended up talking to their children about it. Now in the past 15 years or so things have changed drastically, everyone has a mobile phone, even school going children can’t do without them. What effect does it have? Parents feel more secure because if their child gets into trouble or if there is an emergency they can instantly reach them but look at the cons, many of the parents nowadays have absolutely no control over their children’s lives in terms of who they are talking to and what is going on their life, unless the child decides to talk to the parents about it. And how often does that happen? Not very often, because as a result of all the technological advancements children do not have time or patience for their parents. There is so much to occupy them from play stations, computers to iphones and ipads and need I mention facebook? Which is anything but a book but a whole new world of it’s own to which old and young alike are addicted. Children nowadays can have a day without saying hello to their parents but a day without facebook is unimaginable.

All the latest games whether they are on play station, Xbox or idevices are very engaging indeed and some of them are highly educational too but In my opinion they are nothing compared to the good old game of tag we used to play with out siblings and neighbors. When you sit and play a game on your device or Xbox, who are you connecting with? Virtual characters in a virtual world? A game of ball, tag or hide and seek used to connect the kids with their friends and siblings and gave them some unforgettable memories. And not to mention there were many lessons learned along the way. I am not saying that children do not play with their friends anymore but I know from personal experience and observation that the kids nowadays interact with their devices much more than they do with real people. Why is that? I think it is because it is human nature to stick to relations that are easy to maintain, while a human will not do exactly what you want them to do and may argue with you too but a device will follow your lead. If you are losing in a game, all one has to do is to restart it and there is no looking back. But if you are playing with a friend and you lose, then you lose and you learn lessons about life…you learn how to deal with things when they don’t go your way. I really believe that these devices have managed to attain what they aimed to achieve, which is, making life easier for those who use them. But my question is that if we keep on making our lives so easy than how will we deal with it when it gets difficult? Life is no game that can be restarted, our children need to learn to resolve their problems and to deal with difficult situations and this is only going to happen if they go out in the world and interact with real people. Yes, all kids go to school and they interact with real people there but I have seen many kids who are introverts in school, they keep to themselves until it is time to come home.

Enough about kids, technology seems to have engulfed grown ups just as much too and while it is great that people make so many new friends online through many social networking sites but have you ever felt that you maybe giving your online friends more time than the people living in the same house with you? Nowadays in many affluent households every member of the family has a laptop or any other device to keep them connected to the outside world but we seem to be using the devices given to us by nature less and less to interact with those around us. A chat with a sibling, your spouse or even your own child may seem cumbersome because you have to reply to all the facebook messages and check out the latest updates on all the sites you have registered too…there just aren’t enough hours in a day! So what exactly are the grown ups investing in too? Imagine a day without any of these gadgets in the house and not even the television, what would be the outcome? I am certain that the people living in the house will interact with each other more. When your little sister does not have Google or youtube to tell her what she needs to know about her history lesson she is bound to come to you for assistance and this is how relationships grow.

I must sound like I am anti technology, well honestly speaking no I am not, we have all the possible gadgets in the house that one can think of but it really makes me wonder sometimes that where are we headed? And where does it stop? The internet and the other devices help us in countless ways. I won’t be here talking to you in the first place if it wasn’t for the internet but there was once a time when these things did not exist and people still got by with life just fine. Everything has it’s pros and cons, we all know very well what the positives of technology are and I will not deny them but how many of us stop to reflect how technology has changed human interactions (in good and bad ways). Yes I emphasized on the negative impact of technology in this article because sometimes I do feel like I was just as happy with life before all these technological developments. Life was simple back when friends and siblings had to sit and think hard about how to keep ourselves occupied. When one could not understand history or science your father never turned on you tube for you but he sat down to explain things. I do miss those days and I wonder how life would have been if things were still the same!

Fatima Awan.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of reviewit.pk or dramasonline.com.

There is no doubt about the potential that the Pakistani Actors have. These days when we see the local audience loving our dramas, praising our actors for the good work, it has been seen that there are actresses who are mostly coming up with similar roles. By saying so, I really am not criticizing these talented celebrities but that is what I have been observing that the following actresses are often casted in similar roles, probably because of the fact that they have received popularity for those specific acting skills.