Pakistani drama makers have been focusing a great deal on the monetary aspect of making dramas more than any other for quite some time now. Gone are the days when dramas were made solely for entertaining the viewers. Also, the writers also do not have the same liberty to experiment and express the way they did back in the days when dramas were not used solely for the purpose of earning revenue.
New ‘Trend’ of Stretching Dramas
There was a time when once the script was written and the drama was recorded, it was a done deal. These dramas used to go on air at a certain assigned time and they used to come off air according to the initial plan. However, things changed drastically in the past decade. The producers realized that once they hook the viewers onto a drama, they could easily prolong it and earn more money instead of ending it while people were still loving it! So, now the latest trend is to make people fall in love with a drama, its story, and most importantly the characters and then to do whatever is needed to stretch the story. This is often done at the expense of the story and people fall out of love with the drama they loved watching.
Since the producers continue to get the viewership because people want to find out how a certain drama will end, the sponsors keep on paying them and as a consequence, the dramas are dragged to the limit. In order to drag dramas, certain tactics are used. Sometimes, the edited scenes are added, flashback scenes are a favorite as well, and at other times, the writer is asked to write new episodes and the cast is called in to shoot these episodes! Desperate times call for desperate measures! Because what could be more important for a producer than some extra monetary incentives?
Tere Bin’s Success – a Blessing or a Curse?
Tere Bin was an instant success. This drama broke all previous records and with every passing episode, its fan following skyrocketed. Wahaj Ali and Yumna Zaidi’s on-screen couple got unprecedented love and appreciation from the viewers. The producers obviously marketed this success, which they could surely not predict. Now the real question here is whether this success was a blessing or a curse. The honest answer is that while it has been a blessing for everyone involved, it turned into a curse for the viewers!
While the producers celebrated this success and made the most of it by prolonging the drama, the actors got more modeling projects and attention than ever from the media. Every week the viewers were frustrated by the sloppy writing and twists in the story that was illogical. The writer was obviously asked to prolong the story since the drama put not just the actors but even the producer in the limelight like never before. Then, there were also so many such episodes which relied on flashback scenes more than any other.
Therefore, a drama that was loved because of its characterizations and performances became the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. Scenes were deleted and added without thinking about continuity and every week there were more scenes from the previous episode than tangible developments in the story.
Setting The Wrong Precedent
Tere Bin was definitely not the first popular drama that became a victim to the greed of the producers but it was definitely the first drama after Mere Pass Tum Ho that literally became a phenomenon. The producers could have gracefully ended this drama without turning fans into haters but they did not only unnecessarily drag the story and ruin it but they also blamed the fan following for it! The producer blatantly said that Tere Bin fans did not want the drama to go off air and simply discredited all the logical criticism.
Unfortunately, by doing so and by dragging the drama with absolutely no regard for logic or popular opinion, Tere Bin producers proved that anyone could get away with all this. I say this because the viewership of the drama did not lessen but with each controversy, it roped in even more viewership. It would be safe to say that Tere Bin producers set the wrong precedent by cashing in on its popularity in this manner. The leading actors who are seasoned and intelligent performers also played along which makes matters even worse. Tere Bin’s team proved that as long as the viewers continue to watch a drama, it really does not matter the amount of criticism it gets. So in others words badnaam agar honge tu kya naam na ho ga!
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Tere Bin started off on a strong note and continued to be so for many weeks. However, its popularity led the producers to cash in on the ratings. The drama overstayed its welcome without any doubt. A drama that could have been remembered for so many good reasons will now be remembered for being controversial, illogical, and dragged to the limit! We just hope that the producer of the drama does not get even more confidence to pull another Tere Bin on the viewers after this venture.
