Revival of Pakistani Dramaz March 22, 2010

Pakistani media in the past history has played a major role in producing many unforgettable Pakistani dramas that inspired generations. Pakistan television started the trend of making classic dramas with the help of intellectual writers, powerful direction, and multitalented actors.

       In the very early days of 90’s, there was only one tv channel known as Pakistan television(ptv) that telecasted many popular dramas like ‘dhoop kinaray’, ‘ankahi’, ‘tanhayan’, ‘dhuan’, . The whole idea was to show a well prepared family drama with a strong script and a clean environment. All the credit undoubtedly goes to the brilliant story writers like Haseena Moen, Seema Ghazal, Ashfak Ahmad etc. Their stories focused on many societal issues that touched the hearts of many people. This was the glorious period of Pakistani dramas which led them to accomplish many awards not only at national but also at international level.

     There was a time starting from 2001, when Indian dramas showed on the channel ‘star plus’ became immensely popular. Not only the females but even kids started getting addicted to them. But now Pakistani dramas once again have reached the peaks of fame. Talking about Indian dramas, the only reason they became so popular was because all they showed was glamour, family politics, and endless episodes. These affected their lives so much that their living styles became Indian. Moreover, they had corrupted our society. Their stories and direction was totally unrealistic. These dramas were only about industrialists, elite class and landlords that made young girls materialistic. They were far from reality with funny cosmetic faces of the stars. After 2003, our dramas started copying the star plus culture that led to a downfall in Pakistani dramas. They badly lost their originality.

    Soon, these drama makers realized that these only corrupted our culture and should be free form all kinds of Indian elements and started making old way of drama making with limited episodes and powerful story line. Now, many writers have started writing many powerful stories for different tv channels like geo, hum tv, ptv, ary digital. Every channel is now struggling hard to provide the audience with the best dramas ever. This competition has provoked them to make good serials which include our own culture. Because of this sudden revival of Pakistani dramas, the audience is our dramas very much. The best thing is that they are well appreciated by the Pakistani people living abroad as well. 

      These days the dramas that have gained popularity are ‘meri zaat zarraye be-nishan’ on geo and , ‘nur pur ki rani’ ‘malaal’ ‘wasal’ ‘nur bano’ on hum tv. These are realistic with powerful direction and script. They focus on societal issues that actually take place in the society. Moreover, dramas like ‘wasal’, ‘ishk junoon deewangi’ ‘doraha’ and ‘malaal’ focus on the problems that are faced in a marriage like misunderstandings, extra maritial affairs, lack of trust. These problems do prevail these days. The reason why number of growing divorces has increased is well portrayed in these dramas. People should be well aware of the bitter realities that exist in our society. For example drama ‘ishk junoon diwangi’ is a story about passion and revolves around a happily married couple that finds their entire life changed with the entry of another woman. The husband is a famous director who casts this woman in his film and gets immensely attracted by her considering the fact that he is already married. He gets so obsessed with her that things reach a point when he fails to save his marriage. The point of this story is to show the audience how an obsession makes a man lose his grip and can change his entire life in a second.

    Another very popular drama that was highly appreciated was ‘ doraha’ directed by the very versatile director Mehreen jabber who showed that the difference in income class levels between the married couple led to a failure in marriage despite the fact that it was a love marriage. It showed marriage is a very sensitive issue and needs to be dealt carefully where a lot of adjustments, compromises, and understanding is needed by both the parties even in a loved marriage.

   The emergence of intelligent writers and powerful directors has managed to revive the Pakistani dramas. In short Pakistani media has changed by providing the audience with the dramas they want to see. Gone are the days when star plus was a huge hit. Paki dramas are now well produced and give a good message. The increasing competition among different tv channels has improved the quality of Pakistani dramas due to which the audience gets entertained and gets to watch the best dramas ever!. We should stop watching Indian channels and try promoting our own dramas. Watch Pakistani, listen Pakistani, and speak Pakistan

Author : Anum Saulat

Music Scene in Pakistan

Unlike the rest of the entertainment scenario in Pakistan, music channels are actually attracting new audiences day by day. Today, because of these music channels, local bands and singers like Atif, Jal, Noori and Junoon are more popular than any foreign band or singer. The concerts of these artists and bands are well attended and their albums generate good revenues well because their videos are shown on local music channels. The loyal viewers of these channels are helping pop musicians win the war and push out western and especially the Indian music.

The music industry has come a long way in a very short span of time. Today, it is a complete industry with local music channels dedicated to bringing forward Pakistani talent and the channels’ websites helping expose several local bands and artists doing various genres of music from rock to classical. An example of such an activity is the “Sangeet Icon” and “Coke Studio”.

These days, the most requested videos on several Indian channels are those of Pakistani artists e.g. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam, Jal. This is a great sign, which shows that the country’s music channels are all doing well internationally too.

These channels have promoted pop music so well that channels like HUM TV and Geo TV now air Pakistani artists’ music videos during prime time viewing. This clearly shows a change in the trend of viewing, which has now shifted from dramas and sitcoms to music videos.

Today local music channels stand out among all the private Pakistanichannels. With witty and educated presenters and colorful sets, Indus Music and The Musik are fun to watch. One can proudly say that Pakistani music channels like IM and The Musik can now match foreign music channels.

In fact, the obvious lack of an independent music scene across the border has opened up endless possibilities for Pakistani artists. Nearly all Pakistan’s major artists have engaged in joint collaborations with India, and toured and signed record deals. In the last year alone, in fact, there were more musical collaborations with artists and organizations in India than ever before in history, starting with Ali Azmat’s ‘Garaj Baras,’ for Pooja Bhatt’s movie, Paap.

Author: Huma Zia

Geo draws criticism!

Geo TV, a subsidiary of the Jang group of newspapers, is an Urdu Pakistani television network which was established in May 2002. In Urdu the word “geo” means to “live on”. Geo was the 1^st private local channel of Pakistan thus developed a huge viewership instantaneously. Even now a staggering number of people rate it as the most credible news channel of the country.  However, Geo TV has been criticized by the Pakistani government as well as the masses who believe the channel promotes sensationalism in order to increase its returns and gain popularity. Moreover, the channel is seen as a major reporter of negative news regarding Pakistan, causing general depression and pessimistic viewership experience. Pakistani government criticized the channel’s coverage of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, as GEO’s coverage of the tragedy included disturbing scenes of victims and disaster zones.

A noteworthy target of criticism for the channel is Dr. Shahid Masood, whose anti-government point of views are seen as extreme and ignorant of positive advances the government has ever made. Masood and the GEO News program were the reasons cited when the government banned the transmission of the channel during the Emergency of 2007.

Hamid Mir, anchor person of one of the most popular GEO political talk show Capital Talk, confirmed in an interview with the CBC his strong political views. It further raised doubts and questions in the eyes of the masses regarding Mir’s ability to present fair and balanced news matters. Still he is well liked by the viewers for his straight forward questioning.

During the temporary ban of the channel, GEO launched a web page, Support GEO, for viewers to write messages of support, which would further be approved for public viewing. Negative comments about the channel’s practices, or justification of its removal from Pakistani television, were not accepted and were constantly rejected. Given the channel’s claims of mastering democracy, GEO’s denial to recognize its own criticism was seen as hypocritical. A blog, by the name of Musharraf Supporters, was started in response to adjust those whose opinions were rejected on GEO’s website and wanted their criticism to be published.

Keeping the above points in view comes the opinion that Geo has become a tool of anti-Pakistan elements, the government at times going as far as claiming that its top notch anchors and journalists have sold themselves to foreign spy agencies. This view is shared by a large number of the educated class as well but sadly, the literacy rate being less then 60%, we in Pakistan cannot boast of having a large well educated segment in our populace, hence Geo and its alleged propaganda machine enjoy much fan following in the masses.

Author :Shiza Nisar

The Increasing Trend of Talk Shows in Pakistan

With the changing trend in media Pakistan has experienced an increasing trend of talk shows in Pakistan. These programs, inexpensive to produce and widely imitated around the world, tend to elevate personal opinion and private experience over authoritative facts relevant to Pakistan’s public life. Basically these talk shows can be divided into the following broad categories: tabloid shows, late night shows, daytime talk show (morning shows) and political talk shows.

These talk shows have opened up the media to more diverse views and voices, imparting a sense of democratic legitimacy and have overcame geography, creating virtual communities by connecting the like-minded. It has all started during the Musharaf regime, following the episodes like attack on Lal Masjid and the chief justice issue.

The political talk shows have provided new avenues for swaying public opinion and winning vote and have promoted opinion over detached observation. In the past the Pakistani citizens talking about national issues on the television was considered an impossible task. But now the general public can participate through live calls in the talk shows. This has provided the common man, a sense of importance and as well as freedom of speech. Journalists like Hamid Mir, Kashif Abbasi and Dr. Shahid Masood have become national heroes.

The morning talk shows are more popular in the females. These shows focus on a variety of segments from daily exercise to medical specialists, celebrity interviews to charity programs, movie reviews to discussion on social issues facing Pakistan. The morning shows have played a great role in moulding the personality of Pakistani women and has broadened their thinking horizons.  The most popular are Nadia khan morning show on Geo TV and Good morning Pakistan on ARY Digital hosted by Dr.Shaista.

The tabloid talk shows emphasize drama and entertainment over verified information. These are Oprah winfrey type of shows. The host invites a collection of guests to talk about an emotional or provocative topic, such as divorce or extra marital affairs. One very popular show is “Machis” showed on Hum TV.

There is also an array of late night talk shows. Late night television talk shows often follow the same format which includes: a standup comedy segment, called the monologue, where the host makes jokes about current events, several skits or other comedy bits and then interviews of famous celebrities. One of the most famous late night show is Begum Nawazish Ali talk show. Apart from that these days the “Sharif Show” hosted by Omer Sharif is also very popular.

Author : Ayesha Jamil