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A touch of drama
To jog one’s memory and think of plays that have stood out in the last ten years and made their mark in the ever-burgeoning world of show business is an arduous task. One says this because with the advent of satellite television, the choice of flipping channels and watching programmes of one’s own choosing is endless. And herein lies the problem.
A great many people opine that as soon as the phenomenon of cable TV took root, a large number of men and women, who never had the faintest notion either of drama production or artistic leanings, jumped onto the showbiz bandwagon and began churning out plays — single as well as serials. The private channels needed to fill in the daily transmission time, usually from six to eight hours, and accepted whatever that was being offered without vetting the content or analyzing the technical goof-ups of productions. Hence, the quality of drama that was once the hallmark of PTV plays, suffered and spiralled downwards at a brisk speed. The argument is not insubstantial, though one could take issue with it. But, yes, television drama in Pakistan today cannot measure up to the plays that one witnessed on a regular basis in the ’70s or the first half of the ’80s. However, to see the glass half empty would not be a wise idea.
It was but natural that as soon as the quantitative demand for drama went on the higher side, the qualitative aspect of it received a dent. Today drama-making, not to mention writing, is going through a lean patch. But with so much to pick from and with a large quantity of serials and tele-films being thrown at us, things will filter out. Pretty soon, one will be able to distinguish between the meaningful and the vapid.
Still, in the last decade or so Pakistani TV junkies were treated to a reasonable amount, if not in abundance, of top-notch dramas. Let’s start off with PTV. It is generally thought that when compared with satellite channels, PTV is not as slick when it comes to presentation. It has yet to adopt modern editing techniques and graphic displays. But there is also no denying the fact that in the last 10 years no other channel has come up with more quality plays than PTV.
Haider Imam Rizvi’s socially incisive effort Hawaen immediately springs to mind. The play garnered such huge viewership that it is said when the last episode was aired, roads in the country were found absolutely desolate. Master thespian Talat Hussain’s perfect performance in the last episode of Hawaen, among other important factors, can never be erased from memory; particularly when he is heading towards the gallows with fear in his eyes. Another PTV serial that received critical acclaim was Sahira Kazmi’s Zaibun Nisa. It was also a poignant sociological study of human relationships. Zaibun Nisa highlighted the plight of a middle class household, where sometimes norms dictate values. Sania Saeed’s role attracted a lot of interest in which the minuscule master performer played a dead woman who visits the protagonist Zaibun Nisa, played by Sahira’s daughter Nida Kazmi, to help her out vis-a-vis societal problems.
Kazim Pasha is another of PTV’s top producers. With the passage of time almost all of his offerings have achieved their commercial and artistic goals. In the past decade three of Kazim Pasha’s plays were watched by a large number of viewers. They were Uljhan, Kaffara and Aanchal. Kaffara was especially liked by all and sundry, primarily because of its subject matter and proper treatment, which included attention to detail.
Qasim Jalali is a producer who is easily in the league of Haider Imam Rizvi and Kazim Pasha. Those who would have thought that Dada, as Qasim sahib is fondly known, would have given in to modern times, would be utterly mistaken. The seasoned PTV director made a play a few years ago, Daam-e-Rasai, which dealt with the issues related to the ever-increasing influence of information technology in our lives.
However, the drama that Qasim Jalali made that truly lived up to audience’s expectations was Tipu Sultan. The historic venture was a difficult task to undertake, needing a foolproof script. And Khan Asif provided Qasim Jalali with just that. Some private channels have tried to come up with a serial of historical or literary significance, yet they weren’t up to the mark when it came to research work or a powerhouse script. One feels that Tipu Sultan could have been a much better endeavour had the makers gone for a little more technical finesse.
In the last decade, PTV’s private production policy paid dividends to a certain extent. For example, last year a serial, Mehndi, directed by renowned film-maker Javed Fazil, did huge business. The play was a mega commercial success and was widely watched, primarily because of its deft marketing
A touch of drama strategy. Marketing in recent times has become an integral part of drama-making.
When it comes to plays produced by satellite channels, one feels there isn’t much to write home about. But ever since it was uplinked, Indus Television Network has tried its utmost to entertain the audiences with quality projects. In this regard a serial, Nasl scores high. The play underscores relations between the different socio-economic strata. No other serial, in the recent past, has boasted as much viewership and critical appreciation than Indus Vision’s Harjaee. One knows that in these times, when an overwhelming majority of Pakistani women and TV viewers are addicted to the schmaltzy soaps of Star Plus and Zee TV (Kyun Kay Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, etc), Harjaee had them glued to Indus. Mehreen Jabbar’s play explored issues that are usually not the fodder for our creative pursuits. For example, in the play, Atiqa gets married no less than four times and has affairs with a father and his son.
ARY Digital, like the Indus Network, is no mean media centre. They try to bring something fresh to their viewers and their dramas normally succeed in gaining attention. In this regard ARY’s soap Rabia Zinda Rahey Gi comes to mind. The play, directed by none other than S. Sulaiman, was a worthwhile commercial hit. Though it lost a bit of its poise in the last few episodes, the soap is still fondly remembered.
One look at the above-mentioned serials may suggest that things are not that bleak, even though the bulk of drama productions in the last ten years has been substandard. One hopes that the likes of plays like Harjaee and Hawaen are an inspiration to new drama-makers who are able to bring back the quality that we once took immense pride in.
As far as sitcoms are concerned, it would be difficult to jog one’s memory to point out worthwhile comedy plays. Save for PTV’s ground-breaking Family Front and Indus TV’s true-to-middle-class life Sub Set Hai. Family Front’s speciality was its home-grown zaniness, whereas Sub Set Hai ribbed us with street-urchin humour — qualities that were once unheard of in Pakistani showbiz. So all in all, not a bad decade of drama-making.
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