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Pakistani dramas

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Pakistani dramas, or Pakistani serials, are televised serials produced in Pakistan. Although most of the serials are produced in Urdu, an increasing number of them are produced in other Pakistani languages such as Sindhi, Pashto, Punjabi and Balochi. One of Pakistan's oldest television dramas is the Urdu serial Khuda Ki Basti, which aired in 1969.[1] Pakistani dramas, like serials elsewhere, reflect the country's culture. According to critics, the decades of 1970s and 1980s are considered to be the golden age of Pakistani serials.[2]

They have helped to attract viewers nationwide to television.[3] The serials are watched in India and are popular in other South Asian countries, including Afghanistan,[4] Bangladesh[5] and Nepal.[6]

Origin

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Many Pakistani dramas are based on Urdu novels and in the subsequent years after 1969, many authors became television writers such as Umera Ahmad and Farhat Ishtiaq; both of whom have written content for digests as well as television serials.[7][8] In recent years, Pakistani dramas have increasingly begun to tackle social issues that are considered taboos.[9]

Social impact

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Pakistani feminists are usually concerned about depiction of women in Pakistani drama TV serials, they receive many of those with skepticism & reservation.[10][11] UK based Pakistani feminist Tasneem Ahmar, whose research institute focuses on the women-media relationships, complaints 99.99% of TV drama in Pakistan is misogynist, patriarchal medieval in its depiction and treatment of women issues.[12] Ahmar says there is no doubt that Pakistani Drama TV serials are hugely popular among all strata of Pakistani society, but unfortunately they waste their potential of doing better in projecting progressive values rather than regressive values of women's depiction & support to equal rights.[12]

Popularity outside Pakistan

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See also: List of Pakistani television series

Middle East

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In 2013, the Pakistani drama Humsafar was dubbed into Arabic and broadcast by MBC in the Middle East as Rafeeq-Al-Rooh.[13] The show was immediately successful and, after its first few episodes were broadcast, became the channel's most-watched drama. Before this, Pakistani dramas were not broadcast in the Middle East. After Humasafar, other shows such as Malaal (aired as Hob-Wa-Nadam), Zindagi Gulzar Hai (aired as Asrar Al Hob), Khaani, Aisi Hai Tanhai, Suno Chanda and several others were also dubbed into Arabic and broadcast by MBC.[14][15][16]

India

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Dramas such as Deewarein, Waris, and Jungle were popular in India during the 1980s,[17] but the Indian government has imposed a ban on Pakistani television channels in India.[17] In 2009, the Senate of Pakistan's broadcasting division appealed to the Parliament of India to lift the ban. In 2012, India began debating whether to reverse the ban on Pakistani television channels. India assured Pakistan that it would consider a proposal by Pakistani foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani to lift the ban.[17]

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) launched an entertainment television channel, Zindagi, on 23 June 2014.[18] The channel aired syndicated television shows from Pakistan, and has been well received.[19][20][21] It has been criticized, however, for showing dramas with a smaller number of episodes. To appease viewers,[22][23][24] the channel aired hundreds of Pakistani television shows since then including Aunn Zara, Humsafar, Pyarey Afzal, Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Meray Paas Tum Ho.[18][20][21][23][24][25] Zindagi Gulzar Hai became so popular that it was re-run one month after it ended its initial run in India.[25] In September 2016, however, Zindagi dropped all Pakistani shows from their line-up. In this way, Zindagi came to its end on television.[26][27]

In July 2020, it was announced that Zindagi will make its comeback digitally and brand will come with its 5 original Web Series including Mrs. & Mr. Shameem, Abdullah Pur Ka Devdas, Churails, Ek Jhoothi Love Story and Dhoop Ki Deewar along with some old and new shows from Zindagi Library.

Some already broadcast television series and some of the recent years such as Diyar-e-Dil, Mera Naam Yousuf Hai, Mann Mayal, Baaghi, Behadd, O Rangreza, Ullu Baraye Farokht Nahi, Shehr-e-Zaat, Suno Chanda and many others started to premiere from July 2020 on ZEE5 with a premium membership.

Star India began airing of Mera Naam Yousuf Hai in 2015 on their channel Star Plus and thus becoming the channel's first ever Pakistani drama. The series was aired in India, UAE, USA, Ireland, UK, Austria, Europe, Canada and Latin America.[28]

As per research study of Pakistani popular drama conducted by Indian scholar Jyoti Mehra, North Indian audience gets a sense of cultural familiarity which they can relate to while watching Pakistani drama.[29] The study also gives credit to the content of Pakistani dramas for its comparative realism with fast pace, shorter duration and limited number of episodes for its acceptability among Indian audience.[29]

Other countries

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Pakistani dramas are shown in Afghanistan,[4] Bangladesh,[30][5] Nepal.[31][32] Pakistani television shows are aired on cable television channels in the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States, Canada and Turkey for the Pakistani diaspora.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Ahmad, Bisma (13 March 2015). "Old but not forgotten: Top 10 Pakistani dramas to re-watch now". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Why Turkish soap operas are a hit in Pakistan". Why Turkish soap operas are a hit in Pakistan. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  3. ^ Boone, Jon (23 June 2014). "Indians to get peek into daily lives of Pakistanis with new soap opera channel". the Guardian.
  4. ^ a b "The Durand Debate – Beyond Boundaries". www.geo.tv.
  5. ^ a b "Bangladesh cable operators seek ban on Pakistani TV channels - The Express Tribune". 26 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Pakistanis are peaceful, hospitable: Nepalese envoy". www.thenews.com.pk. 31 March 2017.
  7. ^ Asif, Haseeb (6 July 2015). "Read pray love: Inside the enigmatic world of Urdu digests". Herald Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  8. ^ Ahmer, Imtiaz. "Pakistani dramas".
  9. ^ "Tackling societal issues through televised stories". Daily Times. 14 February 2019.
  10. ^ Zia, Afiya S. (3 February 2020). "The contrite gender formula of Meray Paas Tum Ho and the portrayal of women in cultural scripts". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  11. ^ Sarwari, Aisha (26 January 2020). "10 Problematic Things About 'Meray Paas Tum Ho'". Naya Daur. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  12. ^ a b Sarfraz, Mehmal (15 February 2020). "The 'good' and 'bad' women of serials: How a Pakistan show has triggered debates on depiction of women on television". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Pakistani drama Humsafar (Rafeeq Al Rooh) takes the Arab world by the storm".
  14. ^ "Cyberbullying drama Aesi Hai Tanhai gets an international release". Dawn. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  15. ^ Shabbir, Buraq. "Feroze Khan on Khaani airing on Saudi Arabian TV". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  16. ^ نيوز, المشرق (31 May 2019). "مسلسل زفاف بلا زوجين الحلقة الاخيرة .. زفاف بلا زوجين الحلقة 30". المشرق نيوز (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b c Parashar, Sachin (14 July 2012). "India looking to reverse ban on Pakistani TV channels". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Bye-bye unending television dramas, welcome Zindagi". Times of India. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  19. ^ "Zindagi Gulzar Hai: cross-border love on screen". Hindustan Times. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  20. ^ a b "Spotlight: A lifeline called Zindagi". DAWN.com. Asra Pasha. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  21. ^ a b Sharma, Nandini. "Gear Up For Two New Shows On Zindagi". businessinsider.in. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  22. ^ "New Hindi channel Zindagi". Zee News. 19 May 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Zindagi channel treats Indian viewers to the best Pakistani dramas on offer". dawn.com. Dawn. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  24. ^ a b Nazakat, Syed (30 July 2014). "Why do Indians like Pakistani soap operas so much?". csmonitor.com. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  25. ^ a b "Zindagi Gulzar Hai: Pakistani drama serials win hearts in India". dawn.com. Dawn. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  26. ^ "New Line Up On Zindagi has no Pakistani serials". Indian Express. 29 September 2016.
  27. ^ "Zee channel Zindagi removes Pakistan shows, announces new line-up starting October 3!". India Today. 29 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Mera Naam Yusuf Hai to hit the screens on Indian Channel". Dawn News. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  29. ^ a b Mehra, Jyoti (2019). "Analyzing Portrayals of Modern Women and Popular Culture in Television Soap Operas of Pakistan". Media Watch. 10 (3): 628–684. doi:10.15655/mw/2019/v10i3/49678. ISSN 0976-0911. S2CID 202532277.
  30. ^ "On Pakistani dramas and the Bangladeshi mind - The Opinion Pages". 12 August 2014.
  31. ^ Ansari, Noman (1 May 2015). "Once upon a time in Nepal".
  32. ^ "Pakistanis are peaceful, hospitable: Nepalese envoy". www.thenews.com.pk.
  33. ^ "Pakistani drama Humsafar (Rafeeq Al Rooh – رفيق الروح) takes the Arab world by storm!". 8 November 2013.
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