ALLIA FATIMA NAQVI
(ISLAMABAD)
Pakistani showbiz industry already facing collapse of the Pakistani movie industry and now the two setbacks that stand out are the decision to allow the exhibition of Indian films in Pakistani cinemas and the airing of foreign, especially Turkish and Indian, drama serials on local TV channels.
The artists of Pakistani showbiz industry said that “external cultural invasion” was snatching away the remaining outlets available for Pakistani artists to show their skills in the field of performing arts.
Pakistani dramas, now losing out prime time space to foreign-produced drama, not only regaled the audience at home with their excellent content and quality but also gained popularity abroad with their superb depiction of Pakistani cultural values.
In the 90s, when Pakistan’s film industry crashed, TV dramas accommodated the artists of silver screen in an attempt to keep alive the identity of the actors.
Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) Director General TauqeerNasir said, “Unfortunately, we did not take timely action to save our film industry but the recent cultural invasion by Turkish and Indian dramas on Pakistani channels is unacceptable for TV artists and if the issue is not handled properly, history will repeat itself and it will adversely affect our cultural values and heritage.”
“Enhancing viewership and making money sometimes creates gaps and the downfall of Lollywood was the result of not filling these gaps in time. The drama sector will suffer if the Pakistani nation stays silent,” he added.
TauqeerNasir also said, “Pakistan has immense talent, but unfortunately we do not honour our heroes and value our heritage which is creating lack of nationalism in the young generation.”
Renowned Film Director and Producer, Syed Noor said that these foreign dramas should not be showcased on Pakistani TV channels, as it will create confusion among the youth in adopting between local and foreign cultural values.
The trend of airing Turkish and Indian dramas on top channels poses a question mark on our local production standards. The dramas being produced and directed here were following ethical and cultural values and issues purely connected to our society. But,first we brought the Indian culture to our society through showing their dramas, and now Turkish dramas are invading our culture and promoting vulgarity to a great extent.
Media should launch a comprehensive awareness campaign on the vulgarity of foreign content to benefit the local drama industry, artists, talent and more importantly to keep the local culture and traditions alive.