Pakistani Dramas Can Present Soft Image Of Nation To World
Historians say the 80s was the best era for Pakistani television as writers like Haseena Moin, Anwar Maqsood, Bano Qudsia, Ashfaque Ahmed, and Amjad Islam Amjad gave their hundred percent with pen. At that time actors were selected based on merit and looks but were chosen only if the character suits themselves. The golden age of dramas started from that age because color television just started, fresh faces like Marina Khan, Shehnaz Sheikh, Asif Raza Mir, and others were like a breeze of fresh air. Even Indians were used to being addicted to Pakistani dramas because of the different stories and performances of artists. My grandmother told me that when the Drama serial Waris was released, the roads were empty as the nation waited for their favorite show. Pakistan was not just producing quality serious genre drama but comedy shows as well. People like Moin Akhtar, Bushra Ansari, and others took the burden to make the nation smile and their comic timing was just splendid. In the 90s the quality improved with issue-based shows like Nijaat which was about child labor, population control, and marital issues. 90s kids still have not forgotten the drama serial Dhuwan which was about drug issues.
There was an era when the people of Pakistan forgot to watch their dramas after the government allowed Indian channels in Pakistan and people who had easy cable access just forgot to see Pakistani dramas and were fond of Indian shows. This was the darkest. Pakistan Television which is the government’s property failed to produce quality shows for their audiences. So the era of private channels started. At that time most news channels were profitable businesses for channel owners but still, few people showed courage and started entertainment channels like Salman Iqbal comes with ARY Digital, Mir family comes with GEO Ent, and Sultana Siddiqui comes with Hum TV. These big channels come with new ideas and have given chances to new writers, new directors, and young actors.
Writers like Umera Ahmed, Faseeh Bari Khan, Faiza Iftikhar, and others put their best into writing and it clicked, Finally, their hard work paid off and the nation started to switch off to Pakistani dramas again. Mehreen Jabbar directed a drama in America it was called Malal and in that drama, they got Indian actress Deepti Gupta. It was impressive, Manosalwa, Vasal, and other big-budget productions were just outclassed. Pakistani dramas back to the pace after the success of Humsafar. People started to watch our dramas as the beauty of Mahira Khan was just mesmerizing in Humsafar. Then Pakistani production houses worked more on their skills and tried their best to improve. They work on title songs of dramas as well. When YouTube; ‘s ban was removed in Pakistan, Channels started to upload episodes of dramas on YouTube, and by luck, these drama episodes were suggested to people who live in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. That’s how people got to know more about Pakistani dramas. Tere Bin became the first ever Pakistani drama which was dubbed in Turkish language and ARY Digital started another platform for their Arab fans. With these dramas, we can prevent the soft image of Pakistan on an international level. Unfortunately, the way international media only focuses negativity of Pakistan, they never showed a positive image of Pakistan but with quality dramas, we can give a great message to the world that we are a progressive nation and full of enthusiasm, our hard-working people want to country on top.