Before anyone scratches their head that why a post on Turkish drama, let me state it outright that I love Pakistani Dramas, I love our culture and heritage, However being an insider of the industry, I have developed some insights to why our audience has started to like Turkish dramas. The purpose of this post is not to praise Turkish shows, but try to give a perspective to our media that what is that has caused our drama watchers switch to a different medium now.
Being a part of media industy, I have been able to keep an eye on the dramas that are being produced now, apart from, Zindagi Gulzar hai, Aik Nayee Cinderella, Tanhaiyan and Kahi un Kahi, , if you look at the past 2-3 years, you would find the same formula being repeated over and over again .
- A Mother wants his Laadla, Naazon pala, Iklota Son to marry her niece or daughter of rich man however the son wants to marry someone else. And after the marriage the story gets focused to saas ka zulm and baho ki khamoshi.
- Two Sisters/Two friends, one of them is not so good looking but very mature and sober, the other one is the patakha kind with everything a man could dream of.
- The boyfriend the patakha kind, who happens to be very mature and well educated falling for the sober girl and the patakha girl saying “usnay meri Mohabbat par daaka daala hai , Main Uska ghar nahi basne dungi” Type of dialogues.
- Haseenain , Malkaayen and Betiyan having Stupid and cheap affair with Mohallay , gali Ka Loafer Larka , Having Meanwhile the father of one of them having affair with the lashkaray wali aunties in the area.
- Different breed of Fathers, One who may be a Molvi or Eemandaar Government officer having three or four Daughters , with a Mother or a Sister constantly reminding him “Kitni Betiyan Paida Hogayin hain , Betiyan Nahi Bojh Hain , bara Bojh” , Or the kind of Fathers who are very strict , Beating Wife and Slapping or Taunting Daughters are their Favorite Hobbies
- An elder daughter who is not getting married because she has to look after her family.
Above are the few repeated to death stories, you can ask me Why are we repeating the some issues again and again? Do we only have few things to show ?Not really, however being a part of the major TV production house, I can give you an inside scope that it’s not really the productions houses that are doing it, It’s the channels that play the main role here, When a production house would offer them something offbeat, something hatkay, the channels behave like “Nahi yaar , Maza Nahi,Ismain Aurat Ro Kiun Nahi rahi Public Nahi Dekhegi , Rating Nahi Aayegi” etc etc, yes they are Accepting Some Different and New Stuff but Only when it can be made by a Big Production house or Penned From A Well Known Writer and on the same token they will refuse a young writer who does have idea but doesn’t have a name.
The Production Houses are making What channels are demanding and Believe me or Not channels are demanding this, they want typical stories,
“Kitna paisa laga kar Babar Javed Nay AIK NAYEE CINDRELLA banaya HUMAYUN SAEED nay Kaafir banaya magar chala kia Wohi Behno ki kahani AKS, wohi SAAS K ZULM wala Ik tamanna Lahasil Si, rating tou unhi ki aarahi hai bhai, phir bara budget or paisa laga kar wo drama kyon banayen jo itni rating nahi laita”
I heard it from a well known Media Person, and agreed with it because I know it’s a reality
Now let’s start with Casting, and start off with supporting actors. Why do we see Gul e Rana ,Seema Seher and Others in all the Plays of A&B Productions, Why Six Sigma always cast Shahid Naqvi , Anita Campher for every play ,even MD productions repeats the same actors as a heroin ki behan ya friend roles. For example we saw the same face in Shehr e zaat and even now in Zindagi gulzar hai as a supporting actoress even though she has all what it takes to be in a lead role. This leads to Screen repetitive hence not making the actors grow.
Let’s talk about the main lead now. This is where we are lacking big time, type casting, for example you will always see Urwa in a spoiled girl Role, whose Boyfriend is taking interest in some other simple girl .why Aiza Khan, Saba qamar,Mavra Hussain are playing the Same roti dhoti larki Why Sami khans girlfriend is getting married to another guy and he turns into an angry young lover boy like amitabh of 1980’s, Look at him in Sirat e Mustaqeem,. He did one different role and everyone loved him.
On a Technical level, Its really heart breaking to see almost every drama having the same feel, same location, same sets and to an extent the same wardrobe, I am watching some On Going Plays having Good Script but the execution is Poor, I did mention above about plays that were able to drag viewers back about 4-5 years ago the most appealing thing about those dramas were the presentation, the screen presence was beautiful. Plays Like Maaney Na yeh Dil , Kuch Dil Nay Kaha , VASL , Meri Zaat Zarra e Benishaan looked so Beautiful with jaw dropping Locations and brilliant cinematography that it mesmerized you.
Viewers who watch these dramas don’t want to see Repeated Locations, Same Presentation of Dramas, Same Cast with Same Characters, Typical Domestic Issues, they feel more depressed after watching such depressing dramas. , As a viewer I want to see Pakistani Drama but with Screen beauty, new locations, the viewers who did enjoy Turkish dramas liked the locations, cinematography and beauty of the screen.
We Can make way lot better dramas then the Turkish dubbed ones, the same Babar Javed, Haissem Hussain , Sarmad sultan khoosat Mehreen Jabbar , Roomi Insha , Haseeb Hasan..you guys are the best in the race , Make Plays As you made before, yes we are seeing some well made plays these days, but Please change This “Some” into “Every” , we want every drama well scripted beautifully shot and brilliantly directed.
Writer : Qazi~
bio: Qazi works for media and writes articles on pakistani drama industy, this is his 1st for dramapakistani.
