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

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...

ARY Opinions

Ranking the Most Loving (and Most Harmful) Parents in Parwarish

Parwarish is most relatable portrayal of Pakistani family dynamics on TV today, eschewing melodrama and moral binaries to show the small choices that shape entire lives Parenting is not just a background detail here it’s the emotional engine of the story. From suffocating patriarchs to quietly radical...

Opinions Pakistani Cinema

A Rom-Com Addict’s Review of Love Guru

If you love romantic comedies, you’ll spot the references in Love Guru instantly — from Hitch to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the film plays like a mixtape of your favorite love stories. Nadeem Baig’s Love Guru has a self-awareness that may look like cynicism but grows into a gentle exploration of love and...

Opinions

The Urgency of Responsible Storytelling in Pakistani Television

Television in Pakistan rarely pushes back. Most dramas reinforce the same message: don’t question authority, protect tradition, and preserve the status quo. A woman punished for wanting more. A man rewarded for saying less. Most of our screen stories serve the same goal. Don’t question the preacher....

Opinions

The Great Shift is Not a Compliment – We’re Not Your Aesthetic

I scroll through TikTok, and there it is—another video captioned “The Great Indian Shift.” Yesterday, we were the punchline of “curry” jokes. Today, we’re trending. But as a Pakistani woman, I see through the façade. Demure, well-read, and beautiful—has the world turned into a rishta-wali...

Opinions

If These Reality Shows Came to Pakistan, We’d Never Stop Watching

Let’s be real: Pakistani reality TV is kinda dead. Yeah, we’ve had some singing and talent shows here and there, but nothing that truly hits. Meanwhile, Shark Tank Pakistan pulled insane engagement because it was fresh, relatable, and actually useful (plus, we all love a good “main paisay double karunga”...

MENU

Opinions

Men Age Into Legends. Women Age Into Punchlines

More on these topics

Buzz

World

Deep dives

Drama

Watch

Listen

Read