The Pakistani drama industry has seen many ups and downs. There was a golden period of dramas but the turn of the century saw a decline in the standards of Pakistani dramas. It took a while before the new wave of quality Pakistani dramas arrived which took the industry out of the slump. However, the current state of the Pakistani drama industry warrants much discussion as to where it stands in terms of quality and work ethics.
The veteran Pakistani playwright and dramatist Haseena Moin is not a name that any drama enthusiast can forget. She has written many plays for television and radio and has garnered much love and respect from the audiences and drama fraternity alike. Her dramas of the golden era of PTV got much success not just in the country but internationally as well. And her comments on the current state of Pakistani drama industry were not positive at all.
Industry is not being revived
In an interview with Naya Daur, Haseena Moin has said that she doesn’t think Pakistani dramas are being revived at all and are rather on the decline, content-wise. She further elaborates that serials are commercialized and its all about minting money now. Multiple young writers are being given various scenes to write and in the end, they are patched haphazardly to produce drama in hopes of just producing shows rather than producing quality shows.
“Having 2-4 good dramas being produced on some 77 channels is not an extraordinary feat at all. The process of drama writing has come down to gathering some people in the room and having them write various scenes which are they put together to make an episode. This is not how a drama is written, this is not how anything is written.”
She also talked about the unfortunate state of these young writers who are not even credited for their work. They sit around in the hopes of seeing their name on the credits screen but all credit is given to the bigger writer.
Reasons for the decline
Upon being asked her opinion on how she reckons the industry can be revived, Haseena Moin replied that there is no sure shot way to reinvigorate the drama industry unless the producers understand that quality is more important and comprehend that money should not be the major motivating factor behind the serails.
“The commercializing aspect of the dramas needs to be stopped. As long as dramas are being produced solely for the purpose of minting money, no revival can take place.” Haseena Moin also talked about the way dramas are portraying the evils of the society but without providing any solutions to the evils. She called such dramas as “incomplete” dramas that don’t provide any resolution.
As a final word, Haseena Moin said that there’s some hope left as people are now getting aware of the fact that the situations portrayed in most dramas are far from reality. She urged on treating dramas as an art form rather than a business prospect if the industry is to truly revive.
Final word
While Haseena Moin’s concerns about the current state of Pakistani drama industry are legitimate, being a religious follower of Pakistani shows I would say that things are not so bleak for Pakistani dramas. Current shows on-air like Khaas, Alif, Ishq Zah e Naseeb, etc as well as some recent classics like Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Diyar e Dil, Darr Si Jaati Hai Sila, etc are good examples of how the current drama industry is exploring itself in terms of content. Sure, things aren’t as perfect and smooth as one would like them to be but there is still hope left. The beauty of the shows from the 80s and 90s is definitely timeless but the current shows also promise a bright future for the Pakistani drama industry.
