Whatever Happened to our Softwares Now?

| June 11, 2009 | 6 Comments

dhoop-kinareVery recently our group of friends were having a discussion on the best of programs and dramas that were aired over the years. Not surprisingly, we ended up taking the names of the same old softwares that we normally do. It’s always the same list. Nothing seems to cross that benchmark so far.

 

 

Now, when we talk about Pakistani dramas “Dhoop Kinare” is hardly ever missed. Dhoop Kinare was telecasted on PTV directed by Sahira Kazmi and written by Haseena Moin. And with a strong cast comprising of Rahat Kazmi, Marina Khan, Qazi Wajid, Sajid Hassan etc. All the cast members perfectly blended into their characters. The over all story line itself was so deep and written and executed in an even brilliant manner. The story focusing around the professional and personal lives of doctors was so brilliantly displayed that many people decided to become doctors just after watching this serial.

 

 

And without any exaggeration, I know many people who were kids when they first saw this drama and till this day they love it so much that after every 6 months or so watching Dhoop Kinare is a must over a weekend just to refresh the good old days.

 

 

shehnaz-sheikhSimilarly, Ankahi is another name that is hardly missed. Directed by Shoaib Mansoor and Mohsin Ali and written by Haseena Moin with a cast like Shehnaz Sheikh, Javed Sheikh, Shakeel, Saleem Nasir, Qazi Wajid and Jamshed Ansari.

 

 

Tanhaiyan, on the other hand was yet another 80’s drama with a great cast and amazing plot. What clicked was the simple storyline with at touch of humor. And again the cast was great with Shehnaz Sheikh, Asif, Raza Mir, Marina Khan, Qazi Wajid, Badar Khalil, Jamshed Ansari and Behroz Sabzwari. The powerful execution and characterization of Qabacha itself is a success in itself with the way everyone recalls the character.

 

 

Sunehray Din by Shoaib Mansoor is another one that was well liked by many. That was a different and youthful with Saleem Sheikh and an overall young and fresh cast. It was nice to see new faces doing a pretty good job.

 

 

And then Dasht and Chaand Girhan were two other softwares that were probably the last well known dramas in the 90’s. I still remember how the roads got cleared and everybody used to get off the roads to watch these programs. They were so popular.

 

 

andhera-ujalaOne very old software that came to my mind was Andhera Ujala, which was perhaps shown a long time ago on Friday afternoons. In those times, Friday used to be a holiday and families loved watching the different stories about police catching criminals.

 

 

I might have missed out other good names but the ones I wrote above are the ones that are loved by all for one reason or the other but you guys can always share other good stuff and refresh our memories.

 

 

And now if we just ponder over things, when we have so many options, some how even the softwares that do well do not meet the benchmarks set by the old softwares. Firstly, there are hardly any programs that become so popular like Dhoop Kinare or Sunehray Din. Even if too many channels and audience fragmentation is one of the reasons for not identifying an extremely popular drama but has the quality of storyline and scripts gone down altogether?

 

 

Today, the media is bolder than we can imagine. Everything and every idea is displayed out in the open. But we end up with program that are copies of Desperate Housewives – Band Khirkiyon Kay Peechay on TV One. I guess the last much talked about programs were Dil Diya Dehleez and Man o Salwa on Hum TV.

 

 

And here I am not talking about ratings or grps. I am simply talking about the storyline of the softwares today which has become a rather old debate itself. What could be the reason why we don’t see the same level of brilliant work? We know for a fact the production budgets are much bigger, locations and sets are extremely lavish, everybody dresses up so well but why does the quality somehow lacks in comparison to the older days?

 

 

Not that we should live in the past but shouldn’t we have better stuff with time with every other element becoming far flexible in comparison to the older days when directors and actors had to go through really tough times. Or are we short of good actors? I don’t have these answers and even the debates that I have seen on TV on various channels amidst TV actors, directors and writers the discussion hardly gives any solid answers.

 

 

So have we really produced and witnessed the best stuff already? Will we have the same sort of thought provoking and deep story lines now that we have admired for decades now? And will we ever bring dvds of dramas that are being produced today just like we do with Tanahiyan and Ankahi?

Tags: 80's, Andhera Ujala, Ankahi, Asif Raza Mir, Badar Khalil, Chaand Girhan, Dasht, Dhoop Kinare, Dil Diya Dehleez, dramas, DVDs, Friday, Haseena Moin, Hum TV, Javed Sheikh, Man o Salwa, Marina Khan, PTV, Qazi Wajid, Rahat Kazmi, Sahira Kazmi, Shakeel, Shehnaz Sheikh, softwares, Sunehray Din, Tanhaiyan

Category: Other Stuff, Production

About the Author (Author Profile)

Writer, Blogger, Copywriter & Animal Rights Activist.
MBA in Marketing
Author of “Pakistani Media: The Way Things Are” and
Co-author of “If Mortals Had Been Immortals and Other Short Stories”

  • Khawaja Umer Tanveer

    In my opinion, the drama back in the day catered to a huge audience which included rurals of the country. The drama always portrayed a common mans story, how he or she lives and does whatever. The current drama has taken a U-turn. The trend of showing lavish houses, rich people and expensive cars is seen much more in the dramas these days.

    How many rich people do we have in Pakistan?? less than 1.5% of the population!.. though the rurals still watch it but the cannot develop an association (which is pivotal for its success) with the drama because they don’t see themselves in it. These dramas are catering to a small, relatively unknown audience who spend half of the year outside the country.

    Directors/producers need to know who are they selling their product to… is it the audience or the sponsors? i think the answer is clear who they want as buyers of their product.

  • http://zainad.blogspot.com Zaira Rahman

    Agreed that now the focus is on big budgets and glorification.

    The concern is that are we compromising on quality of the plots, story lines, scripts and acting over all.

    I recall a debate on PTV in which there were 2 panels discussing the same topic. And on one side were the older actors like Kavi, Tauqeer Nasir and a few others. And on the other side some new actors. And the way the younger generation were figting and seemed so offensive was quite strange. They seemed disrecpectful somehow just trying to prove that they are better actors than the older generations.

    Perhaps the standard of acting too has gone down. Earlier we had innumerable great actors. Today, we hardly recall names except 4 or 5 actors. Also it seems that these actors are always working because they are seen on all channels all the time doing all sorts of programs and making money from everywhere. May be that too sort of affects the quality.

  • Anupam

    I am a television software producer for Indian television. Have made serials like ‘Saans” (Starplus) and recently ‘Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein’ (Starplus)> I have also made ‘Sonpari’ for children (Starplus)

    Yes I completely agree with the degeneration of audience tastes even here in India. I am sure it is much worse than in Pakistan.

    Why cant we make super shows like ‘Dhoop Kinarey’ in todays times? I am sure talented people like Saira Kazmi are still around and we still hope to have a sizeable segment of audiences waiting to lap them up!

    Why cant we atleast try? The channels unfortunately are too market driven now..Everyone needs the ratings! Do anything to get the trps..People like cheap gimmicks..In the age of instant gratifications no one has the patience..That is the malaise..thats why we all are suffering..

  • http://www.saroshwaiz.com Sarosh Waiz

    Hi Anupam,

    Its a pleasure to have you on your blog and leave your valuable comments. There are issues with audience degeneration everywhere I believe. The reason that such quality shows are not being produced in today’s age in my opinion is that the people have not been able to balance the commercial aspect and the purity of content that comes out. Since you are a producer yourself, you may agree to what I am trying to highlight. Things have changed drastically with respect to media in our part of the work (South Asia) in the last 2 decades, as we have seen an influx of channels and a lot of investment in the media business. And the investors require their money back in multiple times. Also the influence of international media has changed the way things used to be.

    Unfortunately/Fortunately gone are the days when there used to be a single TV station, and hard working people actually made an extra effort to entertain and provide the best family entertainment. And you are very right to mention that in todays age, no one has patience… and that seriously is a sad story.

  • http://zainad.blogspot.com Zaira Rahman

    @Sarosh: I will tend to disagree slightly, even the influx of channels has little impact at times. A decent program which is promoted well enough on ATL and Outdoor does grab attention initially. If it has some substance people continue to watch them.

    More or less, due to limited recreational outlets in Pakistan, women in general, specifically the housewives, to whom most dramas are targeted watch programs and even their repeats for that matter with interest.

    But, the work in general, even the good stuff in comparison to the work produced decades ago is not that great.

    Anupam: Some softwares produced today, based on the storyline of good writers are decent to watch. However, softwares like Dhoop Kinare, Tanhaiyan, Andhera Ujala etc even though were made long time ago had a great combination of great writers, scripts, actors, music and detailing in realistic way. They had something nice about that even today we buy them on dvds and keep in our home collection. However, softwares today, even if good, are not collectibles.

  • Salman

    All were wonderful dramas of the past.But how can miss you miss Alpha Bravo Charlie by Shoaib Mansoor?I think it was by far the most popular drama in the history of Pakistan

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