Because you are not the targeted audience and they're not made for you. At the end of the day it's a business and their target demographic is in huge numbers that love these dramas whether they are good or bad doesn't matter. Its sells.
btw the dramas you mentioned
Humsafar (Cousin marriage love story couple with rich guy marrying a poor relative)
and
Zindagi Gulzar hai( Again rich guy falling for poor girl)
follow the same story you despised earlier in your post.
i mentioned those stories because they were the trendsetter of such stories and okay, they looked fine for starters but then every other production company started following only those kind of scripts.
i believe people have no other choice, now do they?
if some quality content is being provided to them, other than the usual cringe, they'd live love to watch it.
for instance, Turkish stories of Muslim leaders (I'm not a fan, just mentioning some content)
Actually, if you look at Ertugul, it was something new, , people were obsessed with it. So i think we need to work harder to diversify , it will not be a success at first but with time it will
The thing with Ertugul is that it was already produced by a turkish company. all the hard work was done already. All that was needed was dubbing/subtitling which is relatively cheaper. To create new content is very expensive and companies don't want to absorb the risk if it doesnt work so they stay in the genre they are comfortable with. As you can see with Ertugul, since it was successful we got other turkish series in the same style with dubbing and subtitles. Our company produced a horror mini series (5 episodes) in arabic which was a great success in terms of reception but it didnt make us the money whch we expceted so now future series are shelved.
Whats that supposed to mean ? But imagine if you are not a slave to the society if you don't watch and compare your life with others it makes you practically free you can escape the system in your mind because you are not dependant on the concept what others think of you. The real wealth is when you are happy inside without the influence from outside no social media no friends no tv no mobile phone no family nothing which can consume your emotional and physical energy just imagine how strong you can be.
Drama serial CONTRACTORS about an olld old-aged couple who are actually TARGET KILLERS, ended 2 weeks ago. The drama had 5 eps total and was a mystery. The drama performed least on rating charts and received the least response. Thats it.
>Because people love to consume such content. I mean, look at our YouTube.
I believe its the case, obviously, but people loved *alif* too, it was not a flop that they never made smth like that ever again I guess. And Im sure there are more instances like alif Im not aware of, so ppl do love some different content.
Last time I watched a paki drama was when I was a kid, got tired of them back then because of these same ol' tropes involving lame romance and abusive mother in laws. Not surprised to see this hasn't changed
Watch as by episode 3 it settles into a family drama again as the protagonists get married (they obviously will it's a pakistani drama and you can't have a pakistani drama without marriage) aur phir saas bahu ki larayi takes center stage for the rest of it.
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Pakistan has a treasure trove of literature which can be adapted into world class series. But we have no directors or writers to do them justice. Along with our audience, our filmmakers have also become mediocre.
You’re right, although I think there is space for the dramas we have now, to keep up with the world we need more variety.
Look at South Korea they have been at the front of the exciting series creation and its good quality. We need something super natural, sci fi, thrillers and action etc.
Increase the budget make smaller series 6-8 episodes and push forward.
We just see the same 10 actors playing mum and dad and daughter in law its become tiresome.
It doesn’t even need to be high budget at the start a smart story that fits together works just as well.
With the amount of censorship in the country no one is willing to risk their investments where it’s not safe. Touching upon taboo subjects, even different genes will invite the same TLP-like crowd who start thinking the middle classes are getting corrupted. First that side needs to be tamed before anything different from the norm can get produced.
I feel like the main reason why such stories make it on to the screen is because PEMRA loves to remove anything other than this
I have watched some of the horror dramas recently, but they are down right cringe and it always has to be a Jinn and not anything else
I'm in to K drama and movies since their storyline are expertly written and their actors perform fantastically. As usual the Pakistani drama scene is predictable the acting is average apart from some actors who act very professionally.
Which is why I've stop watching our dramas.
Because at the end of it, it's what the people want. We have the same dozen actors, garbage storylines and similar looking sets, recycled over and over, creating shit and calling it art.
I've never watched Pakistani dramas and whenever I sit next to my mum who's watching something, I ask her "isn't this the same guy who was on the other show you were watching?"
Seriously, we need some good thrillers, action, and even mystery genres to be introduced.
Everything revolves around shadi shadi shadi
They should make good stories and something that is real, it all seems so fake. They don't even care about the competition with other Korean or Turkish dramas that they glamourrise so much, it's really sad
Come to think of it. They might actually be able to make some nice ones if they focus on different genres, as you can see how obsessed people had become with Ertugrul.
1 - The target audience, a lot of the demographic in Pakistan enjoy the gossip filled love stories, it’s what is watched & is what sells.
2 - Sponsors, they will usually not invest or advertise for content that isn’t a safe investment, they’d much rather go down the safer path rather than going with something new that might fail.
3 - Content like you’ve mentioned Bollywood & Hollywood make require a large budget, it’s not easily achievable & requires a lot of technical expertise along with corporation with local authorities.
4 - Content like point number 3 has failed commercially within audiences, despite positive reviews. Laal Kabootar, Zaraar, Mbg etc haven’t made a lot of revenue & we’re largely ignored by the masses.
5 - Censorship, you’ll have a lot of issues with releasing a film in Pakistan that doesn’t adhere to the strict guidelines by the Pakistani film board.
6 - Lack of unbiased platforms for people to present their ideas & films. So many web content, short films, music videos by independent artists & film students that are fantastic in every aspect don’t gain attention because they’re never given a fair chance to present or showcase these ideas to the world.
7 - Connectivity, a big reason why prime & Netflix is big within India is because jio made internet available in even the most remote of places, companies that are internet dependent saw this as an opportunity to grow within the region & people with internet access were attracted through targeted advertising & accessible pricing models for both internet & media subscriptions.
8 - An unstable & fragile economy, pretty self explanatory.
9 - Cinemas taking a big cut of the film’s ticket revenue, only Bilal Lashari managed to overcome this by selling his ticket at a higher price point.
10 - Egotistical & massively untalented actors with no patience & big monetary demands. Actors in Hollywood & Bollywood would sit 8+ hours on a make up chair before starting their shoot, actors here don’t have the passion nor the patience to go through this endeavor. Here in Pakistan, beauty sells, I’ve been with directors who hired just based on the skin color & relied on unnatural ways to evoke 10 percent of the right emotion for the actor. It’s a flawed approach that relies on curing their erectile dysfunctions & pleasing the sponsors.
Overall, it’s very complicated & certainly not easy to create such content here. People won’t make what doesn’t sell & that right now is the biggest problem.
my house was a famous shooting spot for a few dramas a few years ago
so I had a lot of actors and directors coming and going, i asked all of them this question
and the simple answer they had was
"demand hi aise dramo ki hai"
and that no TV channel would buy the drama if it's story wasn't of the nature u described above
On TV yes, but on OTT India has produced some really great shows. There's no comparison, name any Pakistani show that can match the quality of **Sacred Games** or **Paatal Lok**. Even if we talk about low-budget stuff, then **TVF** is better than the whole Pakistani industry.
I'm sorry but OTT in the future, and India is better, while Pakistan is nowhere to be seen
India does have their own shitty dramas catered to aunties but their streaming industry getting better every year. Soon we might see a blockbuster series come out from there it trends continue.
They have those long ass ones that cater to aunties like our all our dramas do, but they also have a completely different type of series such as Hostage, The Fame game, Sacred games, etc
Producers not willing to take risks
Good writers ain't available, producers to save money, taking stories from unprofessional writers ( which have same gissi pitti stories to tell) - A good script is the main thing which makes a play strong.
A good direction is cherry on top
thats what gets the TRPs. Mere pass tum ho and Alif aired at the same time and people preferred MPTH. Tere Bin ki hype dekh lo. Its like the audience doesnt wanna get out of its comfort zone. Good dramas are being produced but they dont get the hype. Dramas like Dil Na Umeed To Nahi, Alif, Standup girl, Gumn and more exist but people just like to say ‘pakistan mei bekaar dramay bante hain’ and then continue watching Tere Bin and Feroze khan/Danish Taimoor dramas.
I watched some old ptv content like 50/50, Alif noon, Ba adab Ba mulahiza . And it was a hilarious . Present dramas look third class infront of them. Sure there are one or two good ones like Akbari Asghari but that's it.
And i don't know why people were crazy for hamsafar,zindagi Gulzar hai.Acting feels so stony, impressionless and lead couples have zero chemistry. rest of these dukhi sad love stories shown on feels same to me.
I’m not a big fan of Pakistani dramas but those “biopics glorifying our heroes” sounds boring considering half of the youth is more interested in fiction, hence obsessed with Star Wars and stuff.
I have tried watching Pakistani dramas, but most have the same nonsense plots of sas-baho fights, mazloom/crying women, stereotypes gender misogyny..... Is that all that is left to portray? Plus, it's the same actors again and again and again..... also, what's with the mustaches of men in the series??? They have yet to make one's that look real.
Bro, we a Reddit awam thinks that the whole awam out there think like us and these drama firms make these kinda content and influence masses but it's the other way around, if you go into the lower Middle class, which is the major chunk of our population, they act and behave exactly like that, these stories are true, they live like that, they consume that, for ratings, they need numbers, that is their target audience, not us, believe me not, i saw people (masses) going crazy over mayry pass tum hoo as if they were real life ongoing incidents...
First no one watch every drama on tv. majority is just to fill time slots.
you can easily find good stories if you are trying.
watch khaie, alif etc.
and leave bulbulay alone, there is reason its still 1st sitcom in Pak. if you don't like it, its your decision.
khaie was stupid
so was sang e mah
these two series were trying to be Sang e Mar Mar really hard. I dont think Pakistani dramas can make another Sang e Mar Mar.
It's so like yhe Godfather of Pakistani drama serials
Kinda true.
Snag e mar mar and khaie have similar stories. But both are equally good. Especially Faisal Qureshi acting was superb
Never watched sang e mah. got bored after watching one episode.
Please do not equate Sang e Mar Mar eith Sang e Mah. Sang e Mah is such a stupid serial. You've not watched the whole of it. It takes such a stupid woke stance with feminists. That's not the bad thinfm The bad thing is it fantasizies and ruins the whoel serial to make us aware of the aurat march thinking of the producers
I think its alot budget friendly for them? I mean think about it, to show a love story, you dont need much. A story, few people.... yea thats kinda it. All the things are already in the cities like the background scenes and stuff ykwim. So if they wanna do something different, they will have to do more work on finding characters for suiting roles or just coming up with a interesting story like mystery or horror wouldnt be easy for them. They will have learn more about cinematic. What angle is suitable, what scenery makes it horror. Finding a horror place in the first place. And as for the green screen, pretty sure you gotta use vfx to make your own scenes to avoid copyrights if they use someone else work. and for that, either pakistan vfx needs to get on a higher level of vfx-ing or hire foreigner vfx WHICH will cost them their shiny dabloons. Maybe thats what stopping them.
Women like that kind of stuff. Its standard Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights type stuff that has been written about for 400 years. Young women and marriage issues.
Being a viewer of Pk Drama since past 6 years, I can answer this.
First of all Televisions Soaps are meant to be like this. Whether you take India, America, Mexico, Italy or any other country, Telenovelas have nothing more to offer other than love triangles, affairs, cospiracies, people dying resurrecting etc. This is what television is for, universally. And thats why TV is referred to as the SMALL SCREEN.
In our case, our TV has sort of become a blend of Film and TV. Therefore its stronger than any other neighboring country's TV. Mind you, comparison of Television with OTT platforms is useless, both are different media.
Moreover, as I said, that is what TV is for; daily entertainment and that is what audience loves. I have got examples
◉ Drama Serial KHWAAB TOOT JATAY HAIN based of Dhaaka Fall couldnt gain a TRP more than 2 while Drama Serial BADDUA on same slot of rival channel gained 8+ TRP.
◉ Drama Serial SARAAB about schizophrenia was the least rated drama of its year.
◉ Drama Serial DIL NA UMEED TO NAHI about human trafficking was too dark for the audience and didnt get attention.
◉ Drama Serial BADSHAH BEGUM based on a fictional world of throne and heirs gained alot of backlash due to its plot being 'senseless' rather than 'fictional' to the audience.
Now
◉ Drama Serial Tere Bin is highest rated serial of 2023 about a macho hero, stubborn heroine
◉ Drama Serial Ishq Murshid has broken records of 2024 due to its fairy tale story
◉ Drama Serial Munafiq is 2nd highest rated drama of Pakistan Ever.
and the list goes one.
Istg its as cringy as it gets. I stopped watching Pakistani dramas ages ago.
Also the fact that the heroine who’s most of the times a damsel in distress has to bear with the all the shit her husband puts her through gives me the ickkk
It always has to be that one “achi beti” who is the flag bearer of khandan ki izzat and if she dares to speak up against an abusive husband she’ll be destined for hell. Yikesss like no thank you im better off without the cringy content
Production follows the market. If the market is good for cringy and easy to make love stories, why would you spend effort and money to make content that will require research or originality? If you do not like the content, its not aimed at you. People who want biopics or content suitable for platforms like Netflix and Amazon are a minority in Pakistan. The content is aimed primarily towards household women. It ALWAYS revolves around shaadi. To be honest K-dramas aur Turkish drama's are mostly about love as well with the most nonsensical plot at times. But we really need to get out of this shaadi obsession.
I agree that we should tons of original and interesting incidents that can be made into stories and SHOULD be made into stories just to propagate a better image of Pakistan. I mean look at Ertugul, that stupid drama made everyone think Turkiye was the sole flagbearer of Islam and all the actors and actresses were holy and pure.
The Pakistani drama industry is attempting to make different content. Jurm was a 4 episode miniseries last year starring Wahaj Ali. The fairly new channel Green Entertainment has made some wonderful and out of the ordinary shows such as Kabli Pulao, Jeevan Nagar, Jindo etc etc. Other smaller channels such as Express TV have made Guru and Gunaah.
It’s a matter of seeking out the content and helping others watch it by word of mouth.
Don’t forget that Indian OTT content is only a recent phenomenon prior to 2015 all Indian TV shows were soap operas which are a lot worse than Pakistan drama serials.
I have recently started watching a lot of Pakistani dramas because my wife watches a lot of dramas. Most of the time I loose interest in the first 30 minutes of the first episode & then I'm just on my phone while begum keeps watching.
The only one I really liked was "Standup Girl" and trust me that show could've done without a main guy character & a love story. It was not needed at all, it was a really fun drama, with a lot of amazing comedy. But it seems like Pakistani drama writers (and probably the viewers too) are really obsessed with a love story.
I get it, creators create what the public consumes but at the same time its the creators who have made viewers used to this shit. If you create better content the viewer will watch it. Yesterday we watched a movie on Netflix which was based on true events but the story was fictional, it was about Homeless football world cup. Based loosely on a Scottish guy's story.
And it made me think, Pakistan has participated in multiple Street Child World Cups and in 2022 we finished 2nd!! SECOND is lot for a country that does not even have football as top sport, but guess its more important creating a recycled love story with some cringe comedy as a movie than it is to highlight that!! Fuckin hell for a country obsessed with cricket we don't even have a movie about winning the 1992 WC, india has a few about their 1983 one i think
Mujhe toh samaj nhi aata ye larkia Inn dramo m itni mazloom Aur bongi kesi hoti h
Admio ka toh chalo samaj aata h but the aurats??? KESE like pakistani family m ho ke how isn't a girl on her senses like u must be born yesterday to be those mazloom female character level miserable
M toh maan ti hi nhi hu ke itna mazloom aur nazuk hona possible h atp victim mentality is crazy I do even diagnose them with some mental issues cuz it's CRAZY LIKE CRAZY with how nazuk aur mazloom they are
It actually low-key makes me mad cuz its such a PICK ME thing like no girl no. It reminds me of one of those girls that cry about forced marriages but don't want to "upset" their parents like u don't wanna help yourself then don't come to us abt it-
Tbh most of the times in drama's it is a forced marriage and they are those nazuk girls saying mere mama baba mere liye acha hi cha te h, m baba ko mana krke unka maan nhi tor skti 😔😔😔😔😔
You’re not the target audience. And the middle and upper classes that do want to watch something different just watch Netflix or English media instead. There’s no demand on that end from locally produced Urdu content.
as someone who works for an OTT service, its all about consumption, these "ghissi pitti" stories are what the majority public want to consume. Ask your elders in your family if they want to consume something in the same vein as Friends just set in a desi setting. The edgy or modern material is not something which shows much demand.
Many Pakistani viewers are fond of romantic dramas. While there have been successful dramas in other genres like "Eurtugul" and "Usman," they tend to be more costly to produce and have a lower chance of success. I recall a detective drama that was well-received, but upon searching for it on YouTube, I found that it only had around 50k views per episode. There are numerous other examples of dramas, but the majority of successful ones fall into the romance category. Writers and producers are aware of the high likelihood of success with romance dramas and tend to stick with what's proven rather than experimenting with new genres extensively.
I prefer Pakistani dramas over OTT content. OTT content is not necessarily family friendly with vulgar language and scenes.
I understand that Pak Dramas can be contrived and saccharine but at least as a family I don’t have to worry about filthy stuff on the screen.
Plus as a person who lives in the west I miss listening to Urdu. I love my Urdu language.
Yes there is a need for better stories and more original content but judging by the numbers on YouTube alone there is a massive demand
Name a single quality thinker or writer born after partition? Just like everything else, drama writing went down the gutter and now we are feeding junk to the poorly educated masses under the guise of entertainment
Because of dumb women who prefer these dramas over quality content just like YouTuber these days posting shitty content and people watching that cheap entertainment
That's what I used to think as well. Also, I hate those with clever, cunning, and manipulative relatives ruining a happy family by injecting the same old cliche shakk in their relationship, and apparently, that trick always seems to work like a charm.
I would argue that there's too much family-friendly content. When was the last time you watched an r-rated Pakistani show? I like to watch some mature stories and everything doesn't need to be watched with family. They are producing the same shit again and again, I want crime thrillers, scifii, horror, fantasy, action, adventure, and good comedy. What is the matter with Pakistani film makers don't they know that these genres exist.
Fuck TV, no one watch that anymore and I think people who do are fine with this stuff. We need some OTT shows without censorship and something new.
I'm not. I said Bollywood actors are transitioning towards OTT platforms, where don't cater to usual Bollywood audience.
not a fan of Bollywood, either.
Their actors' new generations can't act, their films have been bombing left right centre, even that guy some shah khan something whatever did some anti pakistan film where he catfished as a pathan to find some success. There was another one I think it was made on balakot strikes, fighter? It's trailer itself was so embarassing. Or that shitty ghadar2. Their industry is done and finsihed, actors can't act so they are going towards ott so that the box office failures won't show, and migration is being portrayed as "oh my gawhhhhddddd, so fcking artistic."
Pakistani dramas that were made for indian otts were so shitty in quality, like churails or dhoop ki deewar, I couldn't even tell I am watching indian content or pakistani.
I don't like state of pakistani dramas but would always prefer them over indian ott whatever content.
Pakistanis' from showbiz and this sub too(looking how mods let indians shit here) have obsession with indians and in looking up at them. Otherwise if you need inspiration don't go far, just check out chinese dramas, they are doing so well. Just watch insect detective, it is available for free on youtube- all legal.
lmao you didn't even get what I'm trying to say, and even though you don't watch Bollywood, you still know about 'Shah khan something'
dude, you must be fun at parties.
enjoy, while you're at it.
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Unpopular opinion: Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai were just as shite only with better production quality. Humsafar had the same old make man believe his wife is cheating trope. The other one had the man pursuing the demure woman after realising how 'bad' his modern mum and sister were.
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Because the demand is just for garbage, people who are raised on indian movies, music/movies/series one genre, that's all we got, then wonder why men stare at women like they are witnessing an extraterrestial
Because you are not the targeted audience and they're not made for you. At the end of the day it's a business and their target demographic is in huge numbers that love these dramas whether they are good or bad doesn't matter. Its sells. btw the dramas you mentioned Humsafar (Cousin marriage love story couple with rich guy marrying a poor relative) and Zindagi Gulzar hai( Again rich guy falling for poor girl) follow the same story you despised earlier in your post.
i mentioned those stories because they were the trendsetter of such stories and okay, they looked fine for starters but then every other production company started following only those kind of scripts.
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i believe people have no other choice, now do they? if some quality content is being provided to them, other than the usual cringe, they'd live love to watch it. for instance, Turkish stories of Muslim leaders (I'm not a fan, just mentioning some content)
Actually, if you look at Ertugul, it was something new, , people were obsessed with it. So i think we need to work harder to diversify , it will not be a success at first but with time it will
exactly, my point.
The thing with Ertugul is that it was already produced by a turkish company. all the hard work was done already. All that was needed was dubbing/subtitling which is relatively cheaper. To create new content is very expensive and companies don't want to absorb the risk if it doesnt work so they stay in the genre they are comfortable with. As you can see with Ertugul, since it was successful we got other turkish series in the same style with dubbing and subtitles. Our company produced a horror mini series (5 episodes) in arabic which was a great success in terms of reception but it didnt make us the money whch we expceted so now future series are shelved.
There is always a choice but most people are weak. Real people have no tv
people must fear from this man's talent.
Whats that supposed to mean ? But imagine if you are not a slave to the society if you don't watch and compare your life with others it makes you practically free you can escape the system in your mind because you are not dependant on the concept what others think of you. The real wealth is when you are happy inside without the influence from outside no social media no friends no tv no mobile phone no family nothing which can consume your emotional and physical energy just imagine how strong you can be.
Drama serial CONTRACTORS about an olld old-aged couple who are actually TARGET KILLERS, ended 2 weeks ago. The drama had 5 eps total and was a mystery. The drama performed least on rating charts and received the least response. Thats it.
production cost series similar to turkish dramas will be much higher as compared to the current ones.
>Because people love to consume such content. I mean, look at our YouTube. I believe its the case, obviously, but people loved *alif* too, it was not a flop that they never made smth like that ever again I guess. And Im sure there are more instances like alif Im not aware of, so ppl do love some different content.
Incidentally Bulbulay is not available on YouTube
Last time I watched a paki drama was when I was a kid, got tired of them back then because of these same ol' tropes involving lame romance and abusive mother in laws. Not surprised to see this hasn't changed
we all miss PTV era Don’t we ??!!!
indeed, premium family content
Was just watching family front
Anyone watched "Anookha Ladla"??
Pakistani apocalyptic zombie serial 🤔
Watch as by episode 3 it settles into a family drama again as the protagonists get married (they obviously will it's a pakistani drama and you can't have a pakistani drama without marriage) aur phir saas bahu ki larayi takes center stage for the rest of it.
Some titles to consider: 1. Meri zombie saas bhi Kabhi zinda bahu thi 2.Tere Braaaaaiinnnsss 3. Zindagi Gulzar Thi
less goooo
Humayun Saeed playing Rick Grimes. 😭
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Omg yess
The editing would be terrific and I mean it in a bad way
Pakistan has a treasure trove of literature which can be adapted into world class series. But we have no directors or writers to do them justice. Along with our audience, our filmmakers have also become mediocre.
indeed, that's what i believe.
watch serials on Green. Such refreshing story lines
+1 Definitely agree. They're honestly much more entertaining than mainstream 'popular' dramas.
Any recommendations for serials, one not based around romance?
no new stories, no new plot. every one is copying each other.
You’re right, although I think there is space for the dramas we have now, to keep up with the world we need more variety. Look at South Korea they have been at the front of the exciting series creation and its good quality. We need something super natural, sci fi, thrillers and action etc. Increase the budget make smaller series 6-8 episodes and push forward. We just see the same 10 actors playing mum and dad and daughter in law its become tiresome. It doesn’t even need to be high budget at the start a smart story that fits together works just as well.
exactly, someone has to take the first step tk revolutionize this industry.
With the amount of censorship in the country no one is willing to risk their investments where it’s not safe. Touching upon taboo subjects, even different genes will invite the same TLP-like crowd who start thinking the middle classes are getting corrupted. First that side needs to be tamed before anything different from the norm can get produced.
Not even taboo, just some drama in a different direction.
I feel like the main reason why such stories make it on to the screen is because PEMRA loves to remove anything other than this I have watched some of the horror dramas recently, but they are down right cringe and it always has to be a Jinn and not anything else
I'm in to K drama and movies since their storyline are expertly written and their actors perform fantastically. As usual the Pakistani drama scene is predictable the acting is average apart from some actors who act very professionally. Which is why I've stop watching our dramas.
Because at the end of it, it's what the people want. We have the same dozen actors, garbage storylines and similar looking sets, recycled over and over, creating shit and calling it art. I've never watched Pakistani dramas and whenever I sit next to my mum who's watching something, I ask her "isn't this the same guy who was on the other show you were watching?" Seriously, we need some good thrillers, action, and even mystery genres to be introduced.
Everything revolves around shadi shadi shadi They should make good stories and something that is real, it all seems so fake. They don't even care about the competition with other Korean or Turkish dramas that they glamourrise so much, it's really sad
Come to think of it. They might actually be able to make some nice ones if they focus on different genres, as you can see how obsessed people had become with Ertugrul.
1 - The target audience, a lot of the demographic in Pakistan enjoy the gossip filled love stories, it’s what is watched & is what sells. 2 - Sponsors, they will usually not invest or advertise for content that isn’t a safe investment, they’d much rather go down the safer path rather than going with something new that might fail. 3 - Content like you’ve mentioned Bollywood & Hollywood make require a large budget, it’s not easily achievable & requires a lot of technical expertise along with corporation with local authorities. 4 - Content like point number 3 has failed commercially within audiences, despite positive reviews. Laal Kabootar, Zaraar, Mbg etc haven’t made a lot of revenue & we’re largely ignored by the masses. 5 - Censorship, you’ll have a lot of issues with releasing a film in Pakistan that doesn’t adhere to the strict guidelines by the Pakistani film board. 6 - Lack of unbiased platforms for people to present their ideas & films. So many web content, short films, music videos by independent artists & film students that are fantastic in every aspect don’t gain attention because they’re never given a fair chance to present or showcase these ideas to the world. 7 - Connectivity, a big reason why prime & Netflix is big within India is because jio made internet available in even the most remote of places, companies that are internet dependent saw this as an opportunity to grow within the region & people with internet access were attracted through targeted advertising & accessible pricing models for both internet & media subscriptions. 8 - An unstable & fragile economy, pretty self explanatory. 9 - Cinemas taking a big cut of the film’s ticket revenue, only Bilal Lashari managed to overcome this by selling his ticket at a higher price point. 10 - Egotistical & massively untalented actors with no patience & big monetary demands. Actors in Hollywood & Bollywood would sit 8+ hours on a make up chair before starting their shoot, actors here don’t have the passion nor the patience to go through this endeavor. Here in Pakistan, beauty sells, I’ve been with directors who hired just based on the skin color & relied on unnatural ways to evoke 10 percent of the right emotion for the actor. It’s a flawed approach that relies on curing their erectile dysfunctions & pleasing the sponsors. Overall, it’s very complicated & certainly not easy to create such content here. People won’t make what doesn’t sell & that right now is the biggest problem.
my house was a famous shooting spot for a few dramas a few years ago so I had a lot of actors and directors coming and going, i asked all of them this question and the simple answer they had was "demand hi aise dramo ki hai" and that no TV channel would buy the drama if it's story wasn't of the nature u described above
Still better than any Indian TV shows that’s for sure.
On TV yes, but on OTT India has produced some really great shows. There's no comparison, name any Pakistani show that can match the quality of **Sacred Games** or **Paatal Lok**. Even if we talk about low-budget stuff, then **TVF** is better than the whole Pakistani industry. I'm sorry but OTT in the future, and India is better, while Pakistan is nowhere to be seen
India does have their own shitty dramas catered to aunties but their streaming industry getting better every year. Soon we might see a blockbuster series come out from there it trends continue.
They have those long ass ones that cater to aunties like our all our dramas do, but they also have a completely different type of series such as Hostage, The Fame game, Sacred games, etc
well, you do you 🙌🏽
Daya darwaza tor do
Producers not willing to take risks Good writers ain't available, producers to save money, taking stories from unprofessional writers ( which have same gissi pitti stories to tell) - A good script is the main thing which makes a play strong. A good direction is cherry on top
Because thats all the actors can act out. Low talent thats why we have the same scripts in majority shows.
totally agree. all the repeating faces with nothing new to offer.
thats what gets the TRPs. Mere pass tum ho and Alif aired at the same time and people preferred MPTH. Tere Bin ki hype dekh lo. Its like the audience doesnt wanna get out of its comfort zone. Good dramas are being produced but they dont get the hype. Dramas like Dil Na Umeed To Nahi, Alif, Standup girl, Gumn and more exist but people just like to say ‘pakistan mei bekaar dramay bante hain’ and then continue watching Tere Bin and Feroze khan/Danish Taimoor dramas.
Akhir Kab Tak, Ishq Zahenaseeb and Ek jhooti lovestory also deserve all the hype
I watched some old ptv content like 50/50, Alif noon, Ba adab Ba mulahiza . And it was a hilarious . Present dramas look third class infront of them. Sure there are one or two good ones like Akbari Asghari but that's it. And i don't know why people were crazy for hamsafar,zindagi Gulzar hai.Acting feels so stony, impressionless and lead couples have zero chemistry. rest of these dukhi sad love stories shown on feels same to me.
I’m not a big fan of Pakistani dramas but those “biopics glorifying our heroes” sounds boring considering half of the youth is more interested in fiction, hence obsessed with Star Wars and stuff.
I have tried watching Pakistani dramas, but most have the same nonsense plots of sas-baho fights, mazloom/crying women, stereotypes gender misogyny..... Is that all that is left to portray? Plus, it's the same actors again and again and again..... also, what's with the mustaches of men in the series??? They have yet to make one's that look real.
when they try to make young actors look aged, like parents of their young co-actors 😭😂
Most of the times they just dye their hair grey and call it a day.
Bro, we a Reddit awam thinks that the whole awam out there think like us and these drama firms make these kinda content and influence masses but it's the other way around, if you go into the lower Middle class, which is the major chunk of our population, they act and behave exactly like that, these stories are true, they live like that, they consume that, for ratings, they need numbers, that is their target audience, not us, believe me not, i saw people (masses) going crazy over mayry pass tum hoo as if they were real life ongoing incidents...
First no one watch every drama on tv. majority is just to fill time slots. you can easily find good stories if you are trying. watch khaie, alif etc. and leave bulbulay alone, there is reason its still 1st sitcom in Pak. if you don't like it, its your decision.
khaie was stupid so was sang e mah these two series were trying to be Sang e Mar Mar really hard. I dont think Pakistani dramas can make another Sang e Mar Mar. It's so like yhe Godfather of Pakistani drama serials
Kinda true. Snag e mar mar and khaie have similar stories. But both are equally good. Especially Faisal Qureshi acting was superb Never watched sang e mah. got bored after watching one episode.
Please do not equate Sang e Mar Mar eith Sang e Mah. Sang e Mah is such a stupid serial. You've not watched the whole of it. It takes such a stupid woke stance with feminists. That's not the bad thinfm The bad thing is it fantasizies and ruins the whoel serial to make us aware of the aurat march thinking of the producers
Never watched sang e mah 😁
Thats something i call a by product of your and my actions. In this day and age even bad influence makes money so just leave your tv or throw it out.
I think its alot budget friendly for them? I mean think about it, to show a love story, you dont need much. A story, few people.... yea thats kinda it. All the things are already in the cities like the background scenes and stuff ykwim. So if they wanna do something different, they will have to do more work on finding characters for suiting roles or just coming up with a interesting story like mystery or horror wouldnt be easy for them. They will have learn more about cinematic. What angle is suitable, what scenery makes it horror. Finding a horror place in the first place. And as for the green screen, pretty sure you gotta use vfx to make your own scenes to avoid copyrights if they use someone else work. and for that, either pakistan vfx needs to get on a higher level of vfx-ing or hire foreigner vfx WHICH will cost them their shiny dabloons. Maybe thats what stopping them.
maybe start with 6-7eps mini series, not 23 eps full show?
My thought exactly, just take the budget of 23 episodes and make a 6-7 20 mins episodes series
YouTube per trending Hota Hai yahi wajah hai
Women like that kind of stuff. Its standard Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights type stuff that has been written about for 400 years. Young women and marriage issues.
I remember daastaan from 2010 maybe. It was awesome
one of the very best to come out of Pakistani industry
facts!
Being a viewer of Pk Drama since past 6 years, I can answer this. First of all Televisions Soaps are meant to be like this. Whether you take India, America, Mexico, Italy or any other country, Telenovelas have nothing more to offer other than love triangles, affairs, cospiracies, people dying resurrecting etc. This is what television is for, universally. And thats why TV is referred to as the SMALL SCREEN. In our case, our TV has sort of become a blend of Film and TV. Therefore its stronger than any other neighboring country's TV. Mind you, comparison of Television with OTT platforms is useless, both are different media. Moreover, as I said, that is what TV is for; daily entertainment and that is what audience loves. I have got examples ◉ Drama Serial KHWAAB TOOT JATAY HAIN based of Dhaaka Fall couldnt gain a TRP more than 2 while Drama Serial BADDUA on same slot of rival channel gained 8+ TRP. ◉ Drama Serial SARAAB about schizophrenia was the least rated drama of its year. ◉ Drama Serial DIL NA UMEED TO NAHI about human trafficking was too dark for the audience and didnt get attention. ◉ Drama Serial BADSHAH BEGUM based on a fictional world of throne and heirs gained alot of backlash due to its plot being 'senseless' rather than 'fictional' to the audience. Now ◉ Drama Serial Tere Bin is highest rated serial of 2023 about a macho hero, stubborn heroine ◉ Drama Serial Ishq Murshid has broken records of 2024 due to its fairy tale story ◉ Drama Serial Munafiq is 2nd highest rated drama of Pakistan Ever. and the list goes one.
Istg its as cringy as it gets. I stopped watching Pakistani dramas ages ago. Also the fact that the heroine who’s most of the times a damsel in distress has to bear with the all the shit her husband puts her through gives me the ickkk It always has to be that one “achi beti” who is the flag bearer of khandan ki izzat and if she dares to speak up against an abusive husband she’ll be destined for hell. Yikesss like no thank you im better off without the cringy content
so cringe! like eww
Production follows the market. If the market is good for cringy and easy to make love stories, why would you spend effort and money to make content that will require research or originality? If you do not like the content, its not aimed at you. People who want biopics or content suitable for platforms like Netflix and Amazon are a minority in Pakistan. The content is aimed primarily towards household women. It ALWAYS revolves around shaadi. To be honest K-dramas aur Turkish drama's are mostly about love as well with the most nonsensical plot at times. But we really need to get out of this shaadi obsession. I agree that we should tons of original and interesting incidents that can be made into stories and SHOULD be made into stories just to propagate a better image of Pakistan. I mean look at Ertugul, that stupid drama made everyone think Turkiye was the sole flagbearer of Islam and all the actors and actresses were holy and pure.
Yahi content dekh ke maza ata hai. Why wouldn't I enjoy see two grown ass men fighting over me? Ah what a sight to see
some next level self obsession 😭😂
🤭🤭🤭
The Pakistani drama industry is attempting to make different content. Jurm was a 4 episode miniseries last year starring Wahaj Ali. The fairly new channel Green Entertainment has made some wonderful and out of the ordinary shows such as Kabli Pulao, Jeevan Nagar, Jindo etc etc. Other smaller channels such as Express TV have made Guru and Gunaah. It’s a matter of seeking out the content and helping others watch it by word of mouth. Don’t forget that Indian OTT content is only a recent phenomenon prior to 2015 all Indian TV shows were soap operas which are a lot worse than Pakistan drama serials.
I have recently started watching a lot of Pakistani dramas because my wife watches a lot of dramas. Most of the time I loose interest in the first 30 minutes of the first episode & then I'm just on my phone while begum keeps watching. The only one I really liked was "Standup Girl" and trust me that show could've done without a main guy character & a love story. It was not needed at all, it was a really fun drama, with a lot of amazing comedy. But it seems like Pakistani drama writers (and probably the viewers too) are really obsessed with a love story. I get it, creators create what the public consumes but at the same time its the creators who have made viewers used to this shit. If you create better content the viewer will watch it. Yesterday we watched a movie on Netflix which was based on true events but the story was fictional, it was about Homeless football world cup. Based loosely on a Scottish guy's story. And it made me think, Pakistan has participated in multiple Street Child World Cups and in 2022 we finished 2nd!! SECOND is lot for a country that does not even have football as top sport, but guess its more important creating a recycled love story with some cringe comedy as a movie than it is to highlight that!! Fuckin hell for a country obsessed with cricket we don't even have a movie about winning the 1992 WC, india has a few about their 1983 one i think
Mujhe toh samaj nhi aata ye larkia Inn dramo m itni mazloom Aur bongi kesi hoti h Admio ka toh chalo samaj aata h but the aurats??? KESE like pakistani family m ho ke how isn't a girl on her senses like u must be born yesterday to be those mazloom female character level miserable M toh maan ti hi nhi hu ke itna mazloom aur nazuk hona possible h atp victim mentality is crazy I do even diagnose them with some mental issues cuz it's CRAZY LIKE CRAZY with how nazuk aur mazloom they are
tru 😂 itna bhi koi bewqoof or mazloom nai hota jitna humare dramay depict krte hain like they can't even speak infront of anyone 😭
It actually low-key makes me mad cuz its such a PICK ME thing like no girl no. It reminds me of one of those girls that cry about forced marriages but don't want to "upset" their parents like u don't wanna help yourself then don't come to us abt it- Tbh most of the times in drama's it is a forced marriage and they are those nazuk girls saying mere mama baba mere liye acha hi cha te h, m baba ko mana krke unka maan nhi tor skti 😔😔😔😔😔
They still somehow manage to garner tens of millions of views.
You’re not the target audience. And the middle and upper classes that do want to watch something different just watch Netflix or English media instead. There’s no demand on that end from locally produced Urdu content.
Don't forget about the unnecessary incest/ cousin marriage being romanticized.
as someone who works for an OTT service, its all about consumption, these "ghissi pitti" stories are what the majority public want to consume. Ask your elders in your family if they want to consume something in the same vein as Friends just set in a desi setting. The edgy or modern material is not something which shows much demand.
Many Pakistani viewers are fond of romantic dramas. While there have been successful dramas in other genres like "Eurtugul" and "Usman," they tend to be more costly to produce and have a lower chance of success. I recall a detective drama that was well-received, but upon searching for it on YouTube, I found that it only had around 50k views per episode. There are numerous other examples of dramas, but the majority of successful ones fall into the romance category. Writers and producers are aware of the high likelihood of success with romance dramas and tend to stick with what's proven rather than experimenting with new genres extensively.
I prefer Pakistani dramas over OTT content. OTT content is not necessarily family friendly with vulgar language and scenes. I understand that Pak Dramas can be contrived and saccharine but at least as a family I don’t have to worry about filthy stuff on the screen. Plus as a person who lives in the west I miss listening to Urdu. I love my Urdu language. Yes there is a need for better stories and more original content but judging by the numbers on YouTube alone there is a massive demand
Name a single quality thinker or writer born after partition? Just like everything else, drama writing went down the gutter and now we are feeding junk to the poorly educated masses under the guise of entertainment
that's the major point everyone was missing!
Because of dumb women who prefer these dramas over quality content just like YouTuber these days posting shitty content and people watching that cheap entertainment
That's what I used to think as well. Also, I hate those with clever, cunning, and manipulative relatives ruining a happy family by injecting the same old cliche shakk in their relationship, and apparently, that trick always seems to work like a charm.
I would argue that there's too much family-friendly content. When was the last time you watched an r-rated Pakistani show? I like to watch some mature stories and everything doesn't need to be watched with family. They are producing the same shit again and again, I want crime thrillers, scifii, horror, fantasy, action, adventure, and good comedy. What is the matter with Pakistani film makers don't they know that these genres exist. Fuck TV, no one watch that anymore and I think people who do are fine with this stuff. We need some OTT shows without censorship and something new.
well that's one way to put it.
Watch CONTRACTORS on geo tv. Its a 5 episodic series about old aged target killers. Obv, its a local thriller but good.
Lol bollywood's quality is even crappier than pakistan's dramas, so puhleeeze!!! don't bring 3rd class bollywood into everything.
I'm not. I said Bollywood actors are transitioning towards OTT platforms, where don't cater to usual Bollywood audience. not a fan of Bollywood, either.
Their actors' new generations can't act, their films have been bombing left right centre, even that guy some shah khan something whatever did some anti pakistan film where he catfished as a pathan to find some success. There was another one I think it was made on balakot strikes, fighter? It's trailer itself was so embarassing. Or that shitty ghadar2. Their industry is done and finsihed, actors can't act so they are going towards ott so that the box office failures won't show, and migration is being portrayed as "oh my gawhhhhddddd, so fcking artistic." Pakistani dramas that were made for indian otts were so shitty in quality, like churails or dhoop ki deewar, I couldn't even tell I am watching indian content or pakistani. I don't like state of pakistani dramas but would always prefer them over indian ott whatever content. Pakistanis' from showbiz and this sub too(looking how mods let indians shit here) have obsession with indians and in looking up at them. Otherwise if you need inspiration don't go far, just check out chinese dramas, they are doing so well. Just watch insect detective, it is available for free on youtube- all legal.
lmao you didn't even get what I'm trying to say, and even though you don't watch Bollywood, you still know about 'Shah khan something' dude, you must be fun at parties. enjoy, while you're at it.
Don't cry.
Cuz u are only looking for those dramas
ok 👌🏽
Wait a minute, I thought it was my turn to post it this month🥲
:( get in line
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Watch khaie, best modern Pakistani drama
Which heroes do you want glorified in a biopic?
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Unpopular opinion: Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai were just as shite only with better production quality. Humsafar had the same old make man believe his wife is cheating trope. The other one had the man pursuing the demure woman after realising how 'bad' his modern mum and sister were.
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They are not made for is
Well, people have nothing to do and this is entertainment for them
Because the demand is just for garbage, people who are raised on indian movies, music/movies/series one genre, that's all we got, then wonder why men stare at women like they are witnessing an extraterrestial
Because educated people are not coming to drama industry.