As an avid drama watcher it takes a lot for me to actually get up off the sofa and write a complaint , quite frankly I would much rather be sitting on said sofa and watching something interesting. But after noticing certain disturbing trends and tiresome stereotypes repeatedly thrown at me I thought; I had better put that remote down and wander over to my computer to see if anyone else is as bothered as me.

1. Love means never having to say you are sorry is a trite little phrase Pakistani dramas have taken to heart. Whether it is actual adultery such as in Sheher E Zaat or physical violence as in Ek tamanna lahasil our hero never apologizes  In fact both acts are flaunted with such nonchalance that after a while the viewer might be forgiven for thinking the heroine a bit annoying for creating such a fuss. Not once does Salman Anser apologize to Falak even though he asks for a patch up, worse still the dreadful Mohsin of Ek Tamana does not even acknowledge anything happened after beating his wife so badly she could barely walk. The recent drama AShk was another offender, after 22 episodes of willful mistakes by all the characters and open adultery by the hero not a single explanation was offered by any one. Wait; there was one apology from the heroine who was actually the least to blame because she was so young and stupid.

2. This leads to another stereotype being reinforced, that Men simply cannot help themselves. It infantalises men to the point that when temptation comes they give in to it by the next episode .Every time a man or for that matter woman does not ask for forgiveness it seems like a step towards justifying their bad behavior. Mohsin’s mother is not the cause of his violence; there are other ways to react. There is a reason people love Asher and dislike his metaphorical cousin Rohail, both are in bad situations but not only does one make honorable choices he actually accepts his part in the creating the problem .Yes, I understand not everyone behaves decently in real life but for goodness sake call a spade a spade. Bad behavior should be recognized as such not obscured by excuses.

3. If you watch any kind of drama these days you would be forgiven in thinking that greatest scourge of Pakistani society might be rich, spoiled elite class women. Selfish and self-absorbed, what are they thinking of, running NGOs instead of polishing their husband’s mansions? Socialite is such a dreadful word, what does it mean? Someone who goes to parties and shows off about some shoes she bought or the designer clothes she is wearing. Yes she may shout at her servants and bore everyone to death with her shallowness but so far I have yet to see one indicted for blowing up a bomb in a market place or ordering targeted killings. Could it be that there are slightly more serious problems and villains to target than her? Her habit of easily contradicting her husband and any other man in her vicinity is taken as a sign of arrogance, but change her silk suite to a cotton one and put her in a smaller house and suddenly what she says sounds reasonable. Funnily enough these horrible women like Farida Aunty always seem to produce wonderful sons that everyone wants to marry…and you know those wonderful hard working middle class mothers ,their sons can barely attract the girl’s attention…..puzzling…Or perhaps there needs to be more nuance to these two dimensional characters.

Being ever optimistic, let us look forward to better times, after all only a few years ago we saw the heroes of Qaid E tanhai and Meri Zaat Zara E Benishan actually apologised and tried to redeem themselves .There was even one positive role model of a liberal, educated woman: Dr. Zunaira in Yahan Pyar Nahin Hai this year. Let me know your views and feel free to disagree, another point of view is always welcome

Sadaf Haider

Many of our channels promote Indian shows on regular basis. All sorts of Indian shows from dance shows to reality ones are aired on our television channels all through the year and not only this many of our local shows are inspired by these Indian shows because they are so widely followed. We have seen many dance shows which are organized by our own production houses but are nothing more than a Pakistani version of these Indian shows and have nothing to do with our culture or identity. What I find extremely surprising is that none of our actors or any person belonging to the media world has ever opposed these shows strongly till now. Sure we do hear people say that the Indian shows should not be aired every now and then but have you ever seen a proper movement led by an artist or a number of artists against Pakistani shows that are inspired by these Indian shows only?

Now that the Turkish shows are going on air our actors and producers have a serious issue with it and will do anything to stop these shows from going on air. The actor Faysal Qureshi asked people to join hands with him in order to protest against these shows so that the channels won’t let them go on air. This is what Faysal Qureshi has asked from his fans:

“Dear friends and well wishers of Pakistani media, please show your support for Pakistani drama by showing up in person at 3:30 p.m on Saturday 15th DECEMBER at the Karachi Press Club. As you may have noticed, there’s a sudden influx of dubbed dramas as well as Indian soaps in the prime time slot (8 p.m-10:00 p.m) on several mainstream entertainment channels. Nowhere in the world does a country give such precedence to foreign content instead of its own indigenous software as Pakistani channels are choosing to do at this moment. If this trend is allowed to continue unabated, several Pakistani producers and production houses will be forced to shut down. It has been a long and arduous journey for artists, writers, directors, music directors, art directors and producers as it is… Please show your support for this industry and Pakistan’s cultural identity. We look forward to seeing you at the Press Club on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.God bless you all!” (Faysal Quershi)

My question is that was it okay for all these Indian shows to go on air as long as the time slot did not hurt our actors or production houses? If it really is about the cultural identity of Pakistan than my second question is that do shows such as Nachley (in which Faysal Qureshi himself very actively participated) represent the culture of Pakistan? Is it okay if Pakistanis themselves are a threat to their own culture and identity? We need to safeguard our culture and identity ourselves first and then point fingers at others. If our own shows are inspired by Indian shows than how can we hold them accountable for invading or threatening our culture? Is it really about our culture and identity or is it more about the production houses not being able to make as much money as they were before after these Turkish plays in particular go on air?

There are many Pakistani dramas also in which we see all kinds of things that are against our culture, traditions and moral values. We see people openly having extra marital affairs, we see sisters flirting openly with their Brother-In-Laws, people getting drunk is no problem at all, every second negative character in our dramas drinks as if it is no big deal and the comedy in our dramas is getting more vulgar by the day. Why don’t we question all of this and change the way things are. Pakistan has all the talent it needs to make good dramas (and we are making many too) without adding content that makes it impossible for the viewer to sit and watch these dramas with their family. Our dramas were not like this many years back, so whose footsteps are we following now? We cannot allow foreign channels to come here and spread vulgarity but we don’t keep our basic values in mind while making dramas. Instead of promoting family values, we are constantly making plays based on thinking that was indeed imported from the neighboring country.Where did this whole saas bahu saga start from in the first place? We never used to make dramas like that before. Is infidelity a part of our social fabirc?

I understand that our artists and production houses are feeling threatened now that foreign dramas are making their way to our industry but I also hope that our production houses set examples of Pakistani culture and tradition themselves too by promoting it in their dramas and shows. I hope that Faysal Qureshi will not be seen dancing to Indian tunes in his next show, only then will I be convinced that this is indeed about culture and identity and not just money.

Saud.

I wrote an article a few months back about my favorite on-screen characters, chosen from the plays that were on air at that time. Many months have passed since that article was posted and now is the perfect time to share with all of you some of my favorite on-screen characters from the recent plays because there are a number of dramas on air at the moment with some very relatable and interesting characters. I think that a strong script is one which gives us characters that are nicely etched-out. There are some characters we love because we can relate to them, there are others which we like because they are inspiring or just plain cute and there are those which just leave you wondering but you still like them! Here is the list of characters which I am really enjoying watching nowadays. Please feel free to add to the list because I am not watching Aik Nayee Cinderella and I know from the viewers’ discussions on this forum that people find some of the characters in Aik Nayee Cinderella very cute.

Bari Apa (Bari Apa):

Believe it or not this arrogant, selfish and rigid woman is on top of my list! Why? Well because I think we have not seen a character like Zubeida in a very long time. She is strong and selfish but I have to say that I find it difficult to totally dislike her. Although sometimes Zubeida’s double standards shock you to the core but there are times when one feels like there is a reason why Zubeida is the way she is. She was given the responsibility of looking after her siblings at a very young age and she could not marry the one man she loved because her mother wanted her to marry a rich man so that she could help the family financially. Does it sound like I am supporting this head strong woman? Well not really I do see very clearly that she is a hypocrite who “cheats” on her husband by emotionally relying more on her ex-fiancé than her own husband and tells the women around her that they need to respect their spouses when she has no respect for her own husband. There are so many interesting shades to Zubeida’s personality, I absolutely love her character and the play too and I am waiting to see what the new twist in the story has to offer. The character has been played brilliantly by Savera Nadeem and half of the beauty of this character lies in the way she has brought it to life on-screen.

Riffat (Bari Apa):

Yes another character from Bari Apa. In fact I was quite confused as to who I should put second on the list Riffat or Firdous. But Riffat deserves this spot much more than Firdous does. Although Riffat is not playing the lead in the play but I fell in love with her character when she decided to walk out on her husband after he threatened her of divorce…finally a woman who can put her foot down and take a stand where it is needed! The way Riffat feels for Bari Apa when she finds out that her husband married another woman and does not derive pleasure from the news showed that she is a very nice person at heart. While Firdous rejoiced at the news that Zubeida was in deep waters, Riffat did not think like that for a second. Madiha Rizvi has done complete justice to her character and is spot-on as Riffat.

Kashaf (Zindagi Gulzar hai):

Kashaf has won my heart only after two episodes; well to be honest I have liked Kashaf right from the first episode. We have seen many characters that are “somewhat” like Kashaf on-screen; girls who are poor and complain often but Kashaf is in no way like all these characters which we have seen previously. Kashaf has so much more to her personality that just the complaining bit. She is a practical and hardworking girl who loves her mother so much that all she dreams of is a day when her mother will not have to work so hard to make ends meet. Kashaf does not only dream of that day but is working hard to achieve that objective. Kashaf is not waiting for a prince charming to come rescue her but she relies only on her own strength. Sanam Saeed is doing a remarkable as Kashaf and I am really truly looking forward to seeing more of her. I am quite certain that she won’t let her fans down.

Rafia ( Zindagi Gulzar Hai):

Rafia (Kashaf’s mother) is a woman who may have had a very tough life but she is still very positive. She is a brave woman who loves her husband and of course finds it very difficult and hurtful to be ignored by him but she still has the courage to go on with life because she knows only too well that she is the only hope that her daughters have. Kashaf may complain and think negative thoughts but she is brave, courageous and practical like her mother. Samina Peerzada never fails to impress us and although she has played so many such positive characters in the past too but she does not bore us for a second.

Qabacha (Tanhaiyaan Naye Silsilay):

Even those of you who are not entirely enjoying Tanhiyaan Nayee Silsilay must admit that even after so many years Behroze Sabzwari has managed to pull off this character with just as much ease as he did so many years back. Qabacha is cute, caring, and sensitive and puts a big smile on my face every time he comes on-screen. He was my most favorite character in the original Tanhaiyaan too and honestly speaking I was a little apprehensive to watch him on-screen all over again because it could ruin my childhood memories. But this new Qabacha is just cute and lovable as the old one. Behroze Sabzwari deserves special praise for a job well done.

Serena (Tanhiyaan naye Silsilay):

Out of all the new characters that have been added to this sequel Serena has to be my most favorite. She is fun, bubbly, cute, caring and simply adorable. The way Serena has “converted” herself (the chori daar pajamas, choorian etc) after coming to Pakistan is very sweet. Syra Yusef has turned into a wonderful actress and she was the perfect choice for playing this role.

Please share your thoughts about these characters and also, feel free to add to the list.

Fatima Awan.

When I wrote the post about the Little Miss Jihad T-Shirt which Ayesha Omer wore in Zindagi Gulzar Hai while many people supported me but there were also some who thought that talking about this issue was of no use because the celebrities don’t care. Well, guess what Ayesha Omer decided to tell her side of the story because the public decided to openly speak up against something that was completely unacceptable to them. It is good to know that our actors do care about the public opinion. Here is what Ayesha had to say:

It is very apparent that Ayesha wanted to change the shirt but the director and the rest of the team members thought it was only a “cartoon” so there was nothing wrong with wearing it. In a way Ayesha Omer is blaming the seniors on the set who should have known better.

The few lines in the end suggest that Ayesha is very annoyed with people who used abusive language against her and thinks that they should judge themselves as well.

Share your views about this. I think the matter is resolved now and the actors and crew will be more careful in the future.

Saud.

I am a huge Umera Ahmed fan and follow her plays religiously; she is a class above the rest and gives us plays that are very inspiring.I feel that watching an Umera Ahmed play is more than just entertainment, it is a very educational experience as well. It is as if she thinks very hard before writing every single dialogue, the depth in her writing is unbeatable. And that is exactly the reason why I get so upset when I watch Umera Ahmed’s great writings affected by controversies when they go on air. When Shehr-e-Zaat went on air the scene of Falak performing ablution (wadhu) was put under scrutiny by many people and everyone was surprised that no one on the set knew that the way she was performing ablution was wrong. There were many other such careless mistakes or bloopers. For example Falak never wore a duppatta even after she turned towards religion. But all of that is done and dusted so let’s not talk about that.

Only two episodes of Zindagi Gulzar Hai have gone on air and without a doubt the play has a great deal going for it but I have to say with great sadness that the actors and unfortunately the director also has gone somewhat overboard when it comes to showing liberal people. Mehreen Raheel’s dressing is nothing new, sadly she does not consider the feelings of most of the people in Pakistan and dresses however she wishes. But what shocked me and many other people was the T-shirt that Ayesha Omer wore in the second episode, the T-Shirt had “Little Miss Jihad” written on it and it seemed like there was a bomb tied at the back of the scraf of the woman in the picture. And many people noticed and disliked it because the concept of jihad is very sacred to us and while we tolerate and somewhat accept all the modern wear in our dramas wholeheartedly but let us not make fun of our religion.

Everyone should have complete liberty to wear whatever they want to but the actors should think a great deal before wearing something that is bound to give rise to controversies. We all understand by now that Zaroon’s family is very modern but wearing such things just means that you are pressing the buttons of very emotional viewers who attach great respect to Umera Ahmed’s writings. Such bloopers (very careless mistakes) just leave a bad taste in the mouth and I can only wish that people who were involved with this project realize that they were wrong in letting Ayesha Omer wear this shirt. Even if she felt there was nothing wrong with it, there were many other people on the set who could point it out.

I really like everything about Zindagi Gulzar Hai till now and am hoping that we will not be seeing more of such things in the future because these are the things that can be easily avoided and can hurt people’s feelings. What do you people think? Am I being over emotional? Please correct me if I am wrong and share your feelings.

Saud.

If you conduct a survey on what actually made the Pakistani audience hate Star

Well I got a chance to see the first episode of Veet Miss Super Model while surfing on YouTube & I’m speechless ever since. I guess there’s nothing much to say about it because it is pretty evident & clearly visible by what the contestants in the show are showing but I really would like to know what are the reviews of others about this particular show.

One thing that left me pondering through out the auditions was about the values that the parents of these young ladies have instilled in them. Didn’t they teach them anything about how modestly even a moderate Muslim girl should dress up or what is right & wrong. All the girls are within the age group of 17-24 & look at how boldly they are presenting themselves & how did they muster up so much of a courage to go out in the world choosing such indecent attires. Another astonishing factor was the enormous number of the girls who came in for auditions & how easily Tapu Zaveri was looking at them from top to bottom. The way they walked on the ramp which was full of male audience was extremely sad.

I really fail to understand the need & importance of shows like these where they are encouraging younger generation to forget exactly what Islam teaches us. I know many would not agree but I believe dressing up is also one of the MAJOR aspects of Islam which should & can not go unnoticed. Another show that has caught my attention is the dance show ‘NACHLAY’ where girls are performing as well. I really detest when the judges tell them ‘MASHA ALLAH, you’re doing a wonderful job’ & even in the Super Model Show everyone goes like ‘INSHA ALLAH I will improve’, ‘INSHA ALLAH I will win’. I am sorry to say but it sounds exactly how it would when someone outside the vicinity of our culture uses this word.

Excuse me for saying this but all the girls who came were not even able to talk properly but the way they projected themselves was totally contradictory to their speaking skills which showed they had nothing attractive in them but just some outer façade which was in utter need of make over. With all due respect I would present my opinion that it’s a high time people should understand the importance of women & understand that women are not some objects worthy of use in order to sell their products & women on their own should understand that they have more towards them than just a pair of fake eye lashes & unrecognisable photos of their own.

I pray for the Hidayah of all the ladies who at one point of time will have families of their own. Ameen.

Zahra Mirza.

When we think of legendary writers the first name that comes to our mind is Haseena Moin. She is a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter and she has not only written for Television, but also for Radio and Stage shows and has managed to gain International recognition and fame. She has been in the industry for more than the past 4 decades. From comedies like Shahzori, Uncle Urfi, Tanhaiyaan, to tragedies like Parchaiyaan. From romantic dramas like Dhoop Kinaray, Unkahi, Kohar to family dramas like Aansoo. She has written each play to perfection. She has also written several plays based on social issues like the super hit Aahat. She has given us other legendary plays like Kiran Kahani, Des Pardes, Pal Do Pal, Kasak, and Parosi, Bandish, and the list goes on. All these plays have managed to gain International repute. 

Haseena Moin is the recipient of Pride of Performance award. She has introduced many legendary Pakistani actors like Shakeel, Shehnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, Nadia Jamil, Salman Ahmad, Babra Sharif. Many actors rose to fame by to her serials, including Roohi Bano, Khalida Riyasat, Azra Sherwani, Behroze Sabzwari, Badar Khalil, Sania Saeed and many more.

She has been inactive from the past few years but her shows are back again on television. Meri Behen Maya and Saray Mausam Apne hai are both written by Haseena Moin. There was a lot of hype about the new ‘Haseena Moin’ shows. Haseena Moin’s name is no less than a brand itself. A lot of promotion was done by Geo TV to promote both these serials. Everyone was excited to watch the new plays, especially those who have seen her serials like Tanhaiyaan, Dhoop Kinare, Unkahi. However, all the expectations went down the drain when both these shows were launched. Fans were extremely disappointed as both these shows were below their expectations as they lacked proper story and concept. The stories were Clichéd and did not go well with the audience.

Meri Behen Maya’s story revolves around two sisters Maya and Zarmeena whose father married again and their stepmother turns out to be evil. Sounds familiar, right? Saare Mausam Apne Hai revolves around around a girl named Eshal who is bold, confident, and full of adventure and who has been brought up by her grandfather. It is shown how different people manage to leave an impact on her life. Both these stories have nothing new to offer the audience. Why? Because the audiences have changed! Now people all over the world follow Pakistani shows. From youngsters of all age groups, to adults all have gotten hooked to Pakistani shows because of its uniqueness and appeal. They want to see new mature concept based on social issues. They prefer more realistic shows which they can relate to. Evil step mother is a very old concept which would not impress the mature audiences at this stage.

On top of that, the screenplay is boring and direction is average. The pace of the shows is also very slow. Saray Mausam Apne Hai is directed by Ali Rizvi while Meri Behen Maya is directed by Azfar Ali. Azfar is not a very experienced director and has failed to do justice with Haseena Moin’s script. Ali Rizvi is an experienced director but what the show lacks is a good cast. The lead Kanza Arif is a fresh face and her acting fails to impress the audience.

The trend in the Pakistani drama industry has changed over time and the content needs to adapt to these new trends. Now a hit needs a perfect mixture of story, acting, screenplay and direction. A lot of talented writers have emerged over the past two decade or so and there is tough competition in the industry.
As it is said, “Things will not always stay the way they are, people need to adapt to the change.”

Haseena Moin is a great writer, no doubt about that! But she needs to change the stories and adapt with the changing trends in the industry to be able to give hits like before.

Mariam Shafiq

We all are well aware of how our mornings are being ruined by the self-proclaimed reputed & respected morning show hosts. I may sound a little backward but I seriously miss the time when me & my siblings used to get ready for school & we only had PTV broadcasting Tilawwat of Quran Majeed to begin our day with followed by the Darood e Ibrahimi (trust me that’s how I got fluent in it by listening to it every morning Allhamdullilah). I am sure many of the readers will agree to what I am saying & what I am about to say. :)

Ah well! This obnoxious trend started off with GEO TV where Nadia Khan used to host the show. I understand it was a different experience for every housewife because they could just do their household chores along with watching Nadia Khan yap constantly. I understand it was appreciated because GEO was the only one hosting a show & there was no race for the TRPs. Nadia Khan did a good job because of her confidence. Later she lost the charm because her fame for sure affected her brain. She called every single person & started targeting their sensitive issues, insulting every single guest & to put an end to that journey what she did with Noor backfired on her perfectly leaving a great impact on every single fan of hers. I find it a bit amusing when people talk so high of her saying she was the best & we miss her. Ok, she might be the best in her screen presence & the way she carried herself but if we talk about the quality of her work….toot toot toot toot toot.

Anyways, now we have moved into another phase of the morning shows where each & every host is in the mode of “bhalla uski kameez meri kameez se safaid kaisay?” kind of a race. We start off our day with them listening to Indian songs, it’s al-right many people are addicted to music but I guess a moderate person having some values will for sure be thinking twice while listening to them subha savere. The first contradiction that we see is they say ASALAM ALAIKUM & let’s hear the music. Asalam Alaikum is a greeting where we wish peace for other human beings & there we go seeing them defying its essence by quickly tuning into music.

Excuse me for saying it but these days it seems like morning show hosts can go beyond the humane limits to grab the TRPS. Weddings, Jinns & Baby-Showers :O are the last things that anyone would want to see on their screens early morning. I heard Nida Yasir announce her TRPs at the end of her wedding week saying we have the highest TRPs this week & the whole staff cheered. She has been crossing a few limits but the limit was Hira’s Baby Shower where she was seen easily discussing about her personal details & history. Sharing secrets & Mani was seen talking about Hira’s weight gain & to top it up Nida Yasir said I am craving for another baby hayeee Yasir to nahi sun raha?!?!?!? I mean seriously?

The target audience of morning shows are housewives belonging to a certain background with very moderate values. We belong to the mind-set where when a lady is in this phase of her life she draws a huge dupatta & doesn’t come in front of her father because of the shyness & hats off to Nida Yasir & Hira for telling women to break the monotony by crossing the limits. That was the time I completely lost it & posted a piece of my mind to Nida Yasir but conveniently I never got a reply.

I read many comments of people saying ‘band karo yeh shows’ in shows ko band ho jana chahiye’ but all in vein. I just read an amazing article of Nida Zaidi about how Pakistani Drama Industry crushed the Indian Drama Craze that prevailed all over Pakistan so I am hoping that we can crush this pathetic trend of Morning shows too. Why can’t anybody take a stand against these below-the-belt shows? Why don’t we just stop seeing them so that they do not get the TRP’s? What could be done in order to stop these morning shows where they are making people complexed by flashing their designer dresses & talking about expensive make up products? What do they wish to turn Pakistan into?

I personally enjoyed watching those few months of morning show when Sanam Baloch used to host the show decently followed by Chef Adeels’ cooking show. That was something good that we saw on the TV. Sanam Baloch did an amazing job & the show was purely based on the interviews of the celebrities not something unnecessary. Recently Maya Khan’s Kitchen Idol was something interesting too if she had cut those unpolished dancers.

The point is that we have the potential for a healthy entertainment, we do not lack the ideas but it’s just that the show hosts either need to shut it or become more aware & DECENT in order to stop giving headaches to the people. I still wish that we hear the Tilawat of Quran Majeed on every single channel not at the time of Fajr when people hardly tune into their TV’s but in the peak hours of morning where every housewife switches it on.

Cheers,
Zahra Mirza.

Yes you read it right, I am so annoyed over the fact that our kids are being “taught” Hindi- Urdu through cartoons that are dubbed in Hindi-Urdu rather than the Urdu we speak here in our country. Not only this, many cartoons are based on cultural and religious myths of Hindus and while everyone talks against Indian shows on Pakistani channels and Indian models in Pakistani ads, we hardly ever hear anyone talking about these nonsensical cartoons, which have no educational value except that our kids are learning Hindi-Urdu very fast and they watch cartoon characters lying and cheat on-screen. Some years back PEMRA imposed a ban on Cartoon Network and Disney because of these dubbed shows but few months later this ban was lifted on the condition that these dubbed shows will not be shown on the channel. But after a few months the dubbed shows were back with a bang because our children are so addicted to them that they cannot survive without them! Those of you living in Pakistan who have children in the house will know what I am talking about. I have seen many children who are literally addicted to these shows and mothers have to impose a strict ban on Cartoon Network, Disney and Pogo but when kids go to friends’ houses their first request is that they want to watch Doraemon or Chota Beem.

Few months back when Geo TV announced that they were going to have Disney Time I was very happy to hear that because I thought that finally someone has thought about dubbing these shows in Pakistan. I am all for children watching cartoons in Urdu, as long as it is the Urdu we speak here in our country. But when I saw the cartoons being telecast on Geo I was utterly disappointed since they were dubbed in Hindi-Urdu, so basically our channels were just promoting the Indian Urdu even more. Sometimes it scares me that the kids who are growing up watching these programs won’t be able to tell the difference between the two languages. This is what I call cultural invasion in its true sense. Showing Indian advertisements is not as dangerous as this latest trend and something should be done to address the issue.

First of all my question is that even with so much technological development and enough monetary resources why can we not dub these cartoons ourselves? My second question is that if we have enough money to launch new news or entertainment channel every second month, why can’t we have one channel for children too? Pakistan television private or governmental has never produced good quality shows for kids in abundance. And I think that we are missing out on a great opportunity to educate our children through television. These children are our future and a little investment in them is going to go a very long way.

When Hum TV launched a new channel a few months back, I was not happy about it at all because Hum TV is doing so well already as far dramas are concerned so why not invest the same time, energy and money in doing something for the future generation? I am waiting impatiently for the day when we will have our own cartoons promoting our own values, language and customs. I have seen children watching animations like Dettol warriors and Safeguard ones over and over again. These animations are not meant for entertainment purposes at all but are very educational. Kids find them very interesting and follow the instructions given by the animated characters and understand the difference between good and bad as shown in these animated advertisements, this only goes to show that television is such a strong medium that it can bring about any kind of change. It is sad that we leave it to India to make and dub our children’s entertainment shows but can go on making endless dramas for grown ups. It is obviously more about money than doing something good for the betterment of the country.

PEMRA should take a step forward and this time around ensure that no Hindi-Urdu dubbed shows should air on Pakistani Cartoon Network. It would be much better that our kids watch these shows in English, Chinese or Japanese if we cannot do the dubbing ourselves.

Saud.

Although Pakistani Drama industry is attracting viewers where they are finding these dramas interesting enough to follow, it has recently been noticed that foreign dramas are somehow trying to make their entry in the country. Just like ‘Maria-Mummy Papa ki Jaan’, Ishq-e-Mamnoon, a Turkish Serial was aired and ended up conquering high ratings.  Where people are enjoying this change, it is turning out to be a real threat to the integrity and local industry of the nation.

For the readers who want to know more about the policy that is been used behind the idea, it is important to highlight the two modules that are followed worldwide. Countries that follow the first module allow the producers to have complete authority to air their dramas anywhere in the world, provided that the drama is first aired in the local country. On the contrary, countries like India fall in the second one where the channels own the rights and are the sole owners of the drama. A drama like Ishq-e-Mamnoon belongs to the first category.

It is a pity that Pakistan, just like few of the other domains, differs from the rules that are followed globally. In fact, the producers sell the projects to the TV Channels for 6-8 lacs per episodes, having profit up to 2-3 lacs. This is one of the reasons that are dramas cannot make their place in the international market despite of a high quality storyline and talent available.

Such foreign aired shows with their urdu translation are becoming a serious threat to the opportunities within the country where the biggest danger is to the Directors and Actors, which is genuine too. How would the local projects attract viewership when there would be a competition from the market outside the country too?

While a survey was been conducted to know about the views of the famous man-in-power in the industry, it was seen that all the artists and big producers are not satisfied with such shows going on air.  Talat Hussain, A senior Actor talked about the issue in the following words:

“These dramas show a more liberal Muslim society which our viewers want to see and feel, but does that mean that these programmes should be allowed in Pakistan? Certainly not — until or unless a dubbed Pakistani drama is playing in Turkey,”

If you go back in history, you will find similar interference of the East India Company that resulted in the separation of the Sub-continent, It is still long way to foresee any resemblance with the issue, but the government should take ‘smart’ actions to avoid disastrous effects on the  economy that depends on our Entertainment Industry.

Share Your Views About it,

Best Wishes,

Nida Zaidi