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Accept the Slap but Censor the Hug: TV Outrage

In the world of social psychology, there is a concept known as the “threshold of tolerance.” It’s the invisible line that...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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Decoding Primetime Hegemony: Who Is the Default Pakistani?

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