THE recent screening of Turkish soaps on different private TV channels came as a pleasant surprise for its viewers. The soap, ‘Ishq-i-Mamnoo’, aired during prime time, caused a furore that surpassed all ratings records in Pakistan.

The hue and cry being made by local artists and production houses against such foreign soaps dubbed in Urdu depicts their narrow vision and their lack of ability to face challenges.

We, the viewers, are sick and tired of the same old faces day in and day out. The majority of the local artists has overexposed themselves and can be seen in every other serial. We are witnessing the same actors coming in lead roles for the last 15 years.

PTV once had the monopoly as there was no competition. With the advent of private channels, PTV is now a has-been, except in remote areas where cable network is not available.

In this day and age, it is only survival of the fittest. What goes around comes around. Foreign soaps, dubbed in Urdu, are here to stay. The public has shown keen interest in these dramas and that’s the reason many channels have started airing these soaps, and that also during prime time.

The names of ‘Bhiter’ and ‘Behlool’ are now more on viewers lips rather than Savera Nadeem and Faisal Qurieshi. This is a wake-up call for the industry.

JAFFAR NAQVI Lahore

Accepting competition? VIEWERS have seen that the Turkish programmes aired in Pakistan have been a huge success. People find this change refreshing, entertaining and different. However, the protests regarding these soaps revolve around three things: the dress code, the fact that it may corrupt our society and that it may be a threat to the Pakistan entertainment industry.

What I fail to understand is why do the Pakistani producers and directors think that removing these extremely interesting programmes from prime time would stop the public from watching them.

Why doesn’t the Pakistani industry understand that they could learn from such soaps, their sophistication, the scripts, their stories and try to make their programmes better?

These people seem to act very melodramatically, accusing Turkish programmes of destroying the industry. It would be better if the industry stops complaining and works on its own soaps instead of trying to eliminate competition so that their programmes could be watched.

An excuse of having a vulgar dress code is again a stupid excuse. As far as corrupting society is concerned, there was a huge protest against the Turkish programme ‘Ishq-i-memnu’ in which a young wife had an affair with her husband’s nephew.

Let’s be mature, no wife will go having an affair with her nephew just because she saw it in a soap and as far as corrupting a society is concerned, there is innate corruption in our society and I doubt if a soap will either increase or decrease it.

Pakistani dramas also portray extramarital affairs, drinking and corruption; at least the foreign ones are decently directed.

I and many others with me appreciate the fact that Pemra has not decided to censor these programmes and hopefully they will not in future.

MANAAL HAIDER Karachi