KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) culture wing is seeking to help the showbiz fraternity and revive the TV, film, and music industry.

The president of the central governing committee of the Insaf Sports and Culture Wing (ISCW) Shah Zaman Alam met with prominent members of the showbiz fraternity on Sunday and promised to take their valid concerns directly to the prime minister of Pakistan and ask him to intervene in matters of utmost importance.

The event was organized by the PTI’s culture wing at the Arts Council where Mr Alam and his team invited prominent actors, directors, music producers, and theatre enthusiasts to listen to their ideas, their issues, and their suggestions.

Shah Zaman Alam who had a brief singing career between 2000 and 2006 told the attendees that it was the way things were moving back in his days that he decided to approach Imran Khan and be part of his team. That’s why after a struggle of more than a dozen years, PTI is now in power and the party and its cultural wing want to make things easy for “his” fraternity.

Renowned TV and film actor Shamoon Abbasi who is the president of the ISCW central Sindh also spoke, promising his colleagues in the industry that he will try to get their issues solved, even if it meant going against some of the big guns in the industry.

Veteran TV actress Rabia Abid Ali was quite vocal about the payment issues actors face all over the country. Nazli Nasar also informed the committee that people from the entertainment industry are not able to lease a car from banks or get loans because everyone knows they aren’t paid on time.

Director Amena Khan lamented at the lack of trade unions and the way film students were being taught in local universities. Syed Ali Raza Usama blamed the government for not supporting thinkers, while actor Muhib Mirza wanted the government to take the “cable mafia” head on so Pakistan can move into the future.

Others raised concerns from different fields of entertainment. They included actors such as the legendary Ismail Tara, Adnan Jeelani, and Aamir Qureshi, writers and directors like Yasir Akhtar, Shahzad Nawaz, Mohsin Mirza, and Barkat Siddiki as well as music producers Ali Diwan, Kashan Admani, and Imran ‘Emu’ Momina. They not only discussed the lack of cooperation from the national broadcaster, the enormous amount of money they pay as taxes but also suggested a way forward for the industry.

The ISCW committee promised to present these concerns directly to the PM and ensure that even if legislation is required to solve issues, they would pursue the government to take that step as well.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2020