Opinions

The Mother: A devastating family drama about being unseen

There are no villains in Usama Khan’s “The Mother”, only a slow suffocating absence. Absence of attention, of purpose, of...

Beyond the Call: How to Kill Your Dreams

Beyond the Call is an anti-motivational tale about choosing a steady pay-check over passion. Teeli’s four-part corporate...

Kuttay (Rated 18+): Theatre That Bites Back

I thought of walking out of Kuttay: The Ones Who Don’t Bite at several points, a few people actually did. Not because the...

Who gets to be a Pakistani drama critic?

“Culture Critic” has always felt like a misnomer to me. The word suggests someone hovering at the edges, judging from a distance,...

Men Age Into Legends. Women Age Into Punchlines

Ageism and misogyny do not announce themselves as villains. They arrive smiling, joking, framed as banter. This week, we saw two such incidents, one in a victorious Olympic locker room and the other on a television set in Pakistan. Both revealed the same ingrained reflex – to trivialize and denigrate

Opinions Streaming Platforms

Is Pakistan Ready to Cut the Cable Cord?

The way Pakistanis watch content is changing fast. With smartphones in nearly every hand and affordable internet bundles from telecoms, digital platforms are beginning to replace traditional cable in some urban homes. Viewers no longer wait for prime-time slots; instead they stream sports matches live,...

Opinions

The Performative Male Meets Lahori Machismo

The “Performative Male Contest” began as satire on American campuses, mocking men who deploy feminist aesthetics to appeal to progressive women. Viral clips from New York, Chicago, and Ivy League universities showed contestants showing off Clairo vinyls, wired earbuds, thrifted button-ups, long jorts,...

Opinions Others

Pakistan's AI Reporters Aren't What Journalism Needs

The launch of Pakistan Today English News, billed as the world’s first fully AI-powered English-language channel, has ignited debate in Pakistan’s already embattled media industry. Is this a bold step toward efficiency and global reach or a shortcut that sidelines human journalists in favour of avatars...

Opinions

Blender: The Smartest Show on TV?

Is this the smartest show on TV? Blender. Hosted by Fahad Bombaywala, Executive Director at 365 and alum of M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy, Blender looks nothing like mainstream Pakistani TV. It sounds smart, feels sharp and refuses to play dumb. It treats the audience as if they’re already insiders. At...

Opinions

Confessions of a Chronically Online Pakistani Woman

I live on the internet. Not just on it, but in it, like a fish in plastic-choked water, inhaling memes instead of air. It wasn’t always this bleak. The internet once felt like refuge, a parallel world that softened the suffocation of the offline one. Sharing silly memes was rebellion in miniature, an...

Opinions

Between Dramas and Discos: Pakistan Holds Many Worlds

For those who view Pakistan through a narrow lens, the country is imagined as a stage for endless morality plays. In mainstream dramas like Humsafar or Khiṭāb, morality is pitted against desire, female agency is checked at every turn, and middle-class values dominate the script. It’s a lens that freezes...

Opinions

Queer Visibility as Defiance: The Stakes of Pakistan’s Culture Wars

For centuries colonial and nationalist projects have painted Muslims as either hyper-conservative or exotically oppressed. Queer Muslims disrupt both of these images. Their stories are ones where faith, identity, and desire collide in ways that colonial histories, patriarchal traditions, and global pop...

Opinions

Was Sabeen Hijacked by Hate Again?

The moral outrage over Parwarish began the way most internet scandals do: with one screenshot. One frame, shared a thousand times over. A blink-and-you-miss-it second in ARY’s hit family drama Parwarish The scene that became the centre of controversy was one where the protagonist Wali records a song...

Opinions Pakistani Cinema

Are Pakistani Films (and Audiences) Ready for AI?

Pakistan’s film industry is a click away from artificial intelligence. So how do we use it? So far, generative AI in Pakistan has been restricted to the commercial space. Brands like Zong, Olivia, Ufone, and Zero have proudly announced the use of AI-generated visuals in advertising campaigns. These experiments...

Book Review Opinions

Book Review: On My Way, Mahvish Ahmed Finds Home and Herself Abroad

In her beautifully written memoir On My Way, economics lecturer turned content creator Mahvish Ahmed invites readers into a deeply reflective journey as she navigates the challenges of life as an expat mom. The candidly written and evocative memoir, brings forth the warmth and exuberance of a young mom’s...

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Men Age Into Legends. Women Age Into Punchlines

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