Tag: Blogging

Rise & Fall of Pakistan Drama Industry – PDI

There was a time when Pakistani dramas were considered as the best dramas of sub-continent. Pakistan Drama Industry (PDI) started in 1960s and since the beginning of television, PTV was the only channel to produced Pakistani dramas, and the 1st ever super hit drama was “Khuda Ki Basti” which went on air on PTV in 1969.

After that many super hit dramas were produced including 50-50, Alif Noon, Sona Chandi, Aangan Tehra, Ankahi, Dhoop Kinare, Sunehray Din, and Alpha Bravo Charlie among others.

Surely, it was the rise of PDI, and the golden era of PTV that produced such super hit dramas which made records in the history of Pakistan. But unfortunately, PDI became commercialized after 1990s; and not only forget to produced such quality dramas, but also lost their level at which they were during the decades of 1970s, 80s, & 90s.

It was the downfall of our industry. But soon PEMRA issued licenses to many private channels, and the channels took responsibility to get theirs level back.

And finally HUM TV took one step forward to bring back PDI at their rise. And produced such amazing dramas which not only played a major role to bring our industry level back at rise but also made new records. Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Dastaan, Mera Naseeb, Kankar, Durr e Shehwar, and Dil e Muztar were the dramas which set new records in the drama history of our country.

Now a days, Pakistani dramas are being produced on not only typical themes but also promoting Indian culture in our dramas. And producers are crossing all the limits for the sake of TRPs by broadcasting bold scenes, and adopting Western & Indian culture etc. It seems our industry is going to suffer downfall once again.

If our industry stop showing Indian culture in our dramas, and start promoting our own culture, then our industry will not go at rise but also our culture will be highly promoted across the world.

1st ever ‘Sindh Literature Festival – SLF’

Sindh is one of the province of Pakistan. It has an importance because of its historical heritages, poets, Sufi singers, art, literature, and architecture among others. The culture of the Sindh is one of the traditional, and most colorful culture, and people of the Sindh love their culture from their heart and soul.

The first ever Sindh Literature Festival (SLF) was held on 4th to 6th November in Karachi. The most important reason behind organizing this festival was to promote Sindhi Culture, Sindhi Language, and to attract the Sindhi people throughout the country.

The three-day festival was formally inaugurated when Sufi singer Abida Parveen cut a ribbon alongside SLF chairperson Abdullah Hussain Haroon.

The three days festival was truly amazing, knowledgeable, interactive, and worth attending. It was divided into sessions i.e. book stalls, exhibition area, and food area among others.

When Abida Parveen went on stage and gave her soulful performance, the audience became crazy. From beginning to end, her performance grabbed the hearts of audience.

The second day of the festival included Book Launching session by Sindhi writers, Speaking session on different topics i.e. Literary and Intellectual tendencies of contemporary Sindhi literature, the economic Development in Sindh: Vision and Mystery, Languages in a Globalizing World, Journalism: New trends, Impact of visual media on society, etc. Mushaairo session and Music session. In which Natasha Baig gave her energetic performance, which made youth energetic, and they started dancing.

It also included live paintings, which were being painted by the painters of the Sindh and Karachi.

The third day of the festival also included Book Launching session by Sindhi writers, Speaking session on different topics i.e. Sindhi Electronic Media: Positives and Negatives, Science literature in Sindhi Language, Archaeological importance of Karachi, Modern Trends in Music, Print Media in modern age, etc. and Mushairo session among others.

In the end, I would like to say, it was taken such a great initiative to promote the culture, language, art and literature of Sindh.

Here are some pictures from Sindh Literature Festival.

Mahira Khan is all set to comeback fromVerna

Mahira Khan, who is one of the most talented, charming and an amazing Pakistani actress, and popularly known for her incredible acting skills. She gave her debut from the film Bol, and now after 5 years, she is all set to comeback from the film Verna.

The man who is credited for the revival of Pakistani cinema, is all set for a comeback. After the blockbusters like Bol and Khuda Ke Liye, ready to give another blockbuster Verna. Yes, I’m talking about one of the brilliant Pakistani director, none other than Shoaib Mansoor. Who himself has written, and will direct his upcoming film Verna, under his banner SHOMAN Productions.

While talking about the film, actress Mahira Khan revealed,

“Well, I think the whole journey now would be very different. My part in Bol was small and also my first ever acting experience. I was nervous but I was carefree, enjoying my time on set with the kids who played my brother and sisters. When Shoaib Sahab called me after five years this time and told me the story, I knew I’d be challenged as an actor.”

On announcing his next film, director Shoaib Mansoor stated,

“This film is being made by a man of Pakistan, to urge the men of the world to listen to women. It will encourage women to speak up. Khuda ke liye bol verna…”

Sultana Siddiqui, President HUM Network said,

“We at HUM are very happy to have signed up as distributors for Shoaib Mansoor’s film Verna. He is a brilliant director and his views on subjects that are close to our hearts as well, are similar. Shoaib’s films are commercial but at the same time focus on topics that carry a strong message.”

She further said,

“We’re hopeful that this film will be even more successful than his previous ones.”

The film is expected to release on Eid-ul-Fitr 2017.

Jeewan Hathi is all set to release

The trailer of upcoming Pakistani film Jeewan Hathi was officially revealed on 30th September, in Karachi, by Matteela Films & Footprint Entertainment at an exclusive event with the cast of the movie along with the press, media and bloggers.

The movie is directed by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi and written by Faseeh Bari Khan and is produced by Mazhar Zaidi and Shailja Khejriwal, under the banner of Mattela Films Company.

The cast includes Hina Dilpazeer (Popularly known as “MOMO”), Naseeruddin Shah, Kiran Tabeer, Fawad Khan, Samiya Mumtaz and Adnan Jaffer.

Jeewan Hathi is a black comedy, and is all about the race of TRPs in television industry of Pakistan that how the owners cross all the limits just for the ratings of show, and these all presents in such a comedy way.

The story is about an ideal, loving, lower middle class couple’s marriage is on the edge of collapse when they find themselves part of a TV game show, and attracted by the prize of an enormous screen.

While talking about the press meet-up, director Meenu Gaur said,

“We have worked really hard on the movie and the credit goes to our entire team for working hard day and night. This thriller/comedy movie is an attempt by our team to entertain the audience and we hope the people who visit the cinema would enjoy every bit of the movie.”

While talking about the press meet-up, actress Hilna Dilpazeer said,

“I’m playing a role of morning show host and my husband owns the TV channel where I work.”

She further said,

“He changes my show timings to the late night slot and tries to give the morning show to his girlfriend. I do protests and many different things to increase the ratings of my late night show. It’s an amazing comedy and that’s why I signed the film.”

The movie is all set to release on 4th November, 2016 across Pakistan. Here are the pictures from the press meet-up of upcoming movie Jeewan Hathi.

Sanam Baloch’s exclusive interview for Ek Thi Marium

 

  1. What was your motivation to play this role?

Ever since I heard about Marium and her plane crash, i was into her story. I have always been critical of how women are perceived in our society. They are thought to be weak and emotionally unstable and what not. Then I came across Marium Mukhtiyar, an Air Force pilot, being trained for hard core fighter jet flying. Where most of the men dare not tread, there is this ‘weak and emotionally unstable’ woman saying ‘Look at me. I am a woman and I can do this’. Isn’t this incredible? She proved my point right that women are as capable as anyone at anything. So i was hooked to her story even before i was offered this telefilm.

  1. What are the lessons you learnt from Marium’s life?

Resolve. Courage. The courage to stand up, look into the eyes of fear and say, “Don’t come back to me, I am over you”. And this is all we need to do wonders in life.

  1. What do you love about her character?

Her focus. When i met her family and friends, I realized she was an extremely focused individual. She set a goal for herself and she got there. She was a perfectionist.

  1. What should viewers expect from this film?

A moving story of a remarkable girl. A self-driven individual who saw life and death differently. She lived wonderfully and she died a martyr. Who wouldn’t want to watch such a story?

  1. How did you prepare for the role (ie physical training etc.)?

I still haven’t been able to decipher my method to acting. It just happens there and then. May be I want to be in the moment while it is being done. So for this character, my approach was the same, to get into her head. I asked myself a lot of questions about Marium. What motivated her, what did she feel bad about, how would she cry and smile and love and all. And it helped me a lot while doing the scenes. I made up a sketch of the basic character and then allowed myself to react to situations the character experienced. Since people have seen her talk. They know her. And I never played a real life character before. So I had to be extra careful of everything. For example I saw her wearing a specific wrist watch. I knew people wouldn’t notice such a detail but I made sure I wear such a watch too. It had to be less of myself and more of her. And it was challenging. I loved doing all the physical trainings. I loved sports while I was young and that made things easier for me. And you know what the instructors were impressed and they even asked me to join Air Force hahaha.

  1. While filming this movie do you feel like you were impacted personally from the story?

Please describe. First thing that struck me, apart from the story, was the tough training that our forces go through. One has to be extremely tough both mentally and physically to survive. We shot a lot of scenes at the Risalpur Academy and I got to see their routine up close and I must say I was impressed. Hats off to all the cadets. I jumped off a 36 feet tall structure, I flew a trainer plane, Mashaaq, marched while holding a really heavy gun, ran and did awkward exercises and all this has made me stronger. Marium Mukhtiyar ne maut ka dar khatam kar diya hai. Thank you Marium,my friend. Do you have any message for the audience about this movie? All the mothers and fathers and men and women and girls and boys, basically all the Pakistanis,do watch this telefilm. And allow your daughters and sisters and wives to pursue their dreams. They will make you proud. Ye Marium ki nahin, Pakistan ki beti ki kahani hai. See you on 6th September.

Ek Thi Marium