The phenomenal success of Turk TV soap "Ishq-e-Mammnu" got Pakistani TV stars, directors, producers in a dither. Last Monday they complained peevishly to journalists at the Karachi Press Club. This because yet another tear-jerker full of passion and tragedy is being shown, titled 'Manahil aur Khalil', which began that night.
For the first time I regret not having a TV set. I saw the trailer of 'Manahil aur Khalil' at the KPC last week and want very much to see it, just like all the millions who are now hooked to Turkish drama. Why do they see popular foreign productions, first Indian and now Turkish, as a treat to local television drama? On the same channel that is showing 'Manahil aur Khalil' I saw two excellent local productions, one a humorous play, the other a social comedy. Both excellently produced, acted and hugely enjoyable.
The chief complaint of the United Producers Association (UPA) and TV artistes that the imported drama is taking up a large chunk of prime time which is between 7 pm and 10 pm. They said that time was traditionally for Pakistani productions. This is silly. Prime time is for anything, whether news, talk show, drama or anything entertaining, such as the recent music series 'Chote Ustad' that the viewers want to see.
The UPA cannot dictate viewer preference. What it can do is compete for the prime-time slot. Although very good plays and serials have been locally produced, none of them has commanded as high rating as the Turkish dramas have captured. You have to go back to the early days of PTV for must-watch serials like 'Khuda ki Basti' or to the pre-channel invasion for 'Deewaren'. These serials were not watched because there was no competition from imported productions. They were great in their own right. They could still win an audience if PTV decides to rerun them.
Entertainment programmes are commercially motivated, for attracting advertisement, the source of revenue in the TV business. Today, even though good entertainment programmes are shown and avidly watched, none has much potential to attract the advertisers. To date, the food channels are doing well, followed by talk shows. Entertainment programmes like plays and music shows are not doing as well, comparatively speaking.
You cannot therefore accuse the Turkish drama serials for killing local TV entertainment. The huge success of 'Ishq-e-Mamnoon' naturally led to this new serial 'Manahil aur Khalil'. For the channel owner it is good for business; for the viewer it is a sight for sore eyes. O Lord, how handsome is the actor who plays Khalil. Despite my age I have fallen in love, I am a fan, I am determined to get a TV set. What Mirza Ghalib said in his last days about wine, I can say about hero worship: even though I am aged I can still feast my eyes. If an old biddy like me is so enthused, just imagine all the young ones who must be swooning. He is not just good-looking, he appears to be a great actor too.
It is not good looks that will carry the day, or rather prime-time viewers. Unlike the Indian serials, the Turkish ones are so "US". We relate to the storyline completely. The same issues that cause tensions, social tragedy and even violence are just what happens in Pakistan. Similar themes have been telecast on local TV, but they are just melodrama projecting helplessness in the face of family and social constraints. The heroine in Pakistani drama is submissive, victimised and lacks guts even to defend her dignity, let alone her virtue. She does not appear to be an individual, she is a stereotype, as in fact are her "Parents" and other players in society who object to what they dub is a woman's brazen disrespect of traditions. Play writers should get out of this horrible pessimism if they are to compete with the Turks.
To compete with imported TV drama it is not necessary to have pretty faces or even a great storyline. What is essential is intelligent presentation. That is unfortunately lacking. Story ideas are generally borrowed from western or Indian sources. If a storyline did well, say on Indian TV, the same will be aped by Pakistani TV, such as the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Originality is lacking in the script of our drama. Look back to the humour serial 'Alif Noon' on PTV. It was not a great production, the acting was so-so but every episode projected an original social issue in a humorous way. There is slavish reproduction of reality in current TV plays. Reality is merely the foundation, remember 'Sona Chandi'? It gave you a completely authentic picture of village life, and the life of villagers in the urban setting, but there was nothing banal about the episodes.
Pakistani television has the talent in all fields, playwriting, acting, production, and can compete for prime-time slot. If they are unable at the moment, it is because they seem to lack confidence. The laurels they earned are all in the past. Today they prefer to do nothing but sit on their laurels, which, as someone said, is wearing them in the wrong place.