akistan’s TV drama was once well known for its strong characters, storylines and solid performances. The makeup was simple, and the costumes rather plain but the nuanced characterisation and plotlines spoke for themselves.

The success of our old productions can be gauged from the fact that those were exported to more than 180 countries and broadcast in 50 languages. The industry once raked in over $1 billion dollars and employed more than 100,000 people.

Actors like Behroz Sabzwari, Nauman Ijaz, Moin Akhtar, Bushra Ansari, Samina Ahmed, Marina Khan and Samina Peerzada made their careers in those days.

However, the last two decades have seen the industry plummet. Mediocre performances and weak storylines are the current norm.

When I went to the 14^th Karachi Literature Festival, I was particularly interested in a session titled, Pakistani Drama: Kahaan Say Aaya Kahaan Gaya Woh. The session was moderated by Raju Jamil. The panelists included Bee Gul, Nadeem Baig, Behroze Sabzwari, Shameem Hilaly, Shahzad Sheikh and Kubra Khan.

Having grown up in the ’90s, on more than one occasion, I had heard my parents speak of the excellent performances of some of the panelists. I resonated with the discussion right away.

Jamil asked the panelists how the Pakistani drama landscape had changed over the years and the path ahead.

Shameem Hilaly said, “I started my journey at a time that was characterised by live broadcasts. There was absolutely no room for mistakes. The television used to run for only about 3-4 hours, and it had to include information programmes and news besides music and dramas. So, it began with rudimentary rules and settings.”

Leading the panel into a discussion about commercialization, Jamil commented that dramas these days began and ended with advertisements. He said that the significant metric apparently was not playwriting any longer, it was commercial viability. Perhaps, he said, that was not a bad thing but drama production could not be approached as mere business. There had to be good content. “So, the audience’s attention is divided. We don’t see many thought-provoking dramas these days,” he said.

The conversation brought to the forefront how important it was for all the stakeholders in the industry to collaborate. The panelists agreed that there was a dire need to bridge the gap between writers and producers. 

Jamil asked Kubra Khan what she thought of plays like Ankahi and Tanhaiyaan. She responded, “the dramas, those days, were way ahead of their time. The themes were progressive even though the society was riddled with taboos and stigmas. The plays were encouraging and inspirational.”

“Today, social media has gained a lot of attention. Back then, we did not get to interact with the audience as much as today. But I feel that despite that or maybe because of that, we are regressing rather than making progress,” said the actress.

Bee Gul criticised the hyper-focus on commercialisation and said that it was one of the main reasons behind productions becoming diluted and not covering issues of social importance.

“There were announcements before a drama began for the audiences to wait and watch. And the audience waited patiently. They looked forward to it. It used to be family time,” reminisced Gul.

“Today, the state of the television is the same as the state itself. Commercialisation has become so rampant that I believe there are dramas tucked between a series of advertisements, and not the other way around,” said the writer.

“Unfortunately, drama has more to do with marketing and campaigns than the content these days. If we had paid attention to the quality of content we were producing, we would not be speaking of the deteriorating state of the industry now,” said Gul. She said good soaps would remain a distant dream so long as the producers did not give creative freedom to their writers and kept on imposing on them what they believed ‘sells’.

The conversation brought to the forefront how important it was for all the stakeholders in the industry to collaborate. The panelists agreed that there was a dire need to bridge the gap between the writers and the producers.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Karachi