There’s no doubt that Bollywood is world renowned for its content. Lollywood nowhere near the heights of popularity as our ‘friendly’ neighbor’s established showbiz industry. But despair not, there is indeed something that we do better than the peeps next door!
One part of our industry that is clearly head and shoulders above the competition? The Pakistani drama industry.
When it comes to quality TV content in the subcontinent, Pakistani dramas are far superior than their Indian counterparts. In fact, Pakistani dramas are solely responsible for the revival of Lollywood. India is heavily reliant on their film industry. For them, their TV industry is all about Ekta Kapoor soaps that take forever to conclude, and just not worth the time and effort.
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For Pakistan, TV is the core foundation and platform for young and upcoming talent to shine and hone their skills. Celebrities like Mahira Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi or Mehwish Hayat became international stars and household names way before they started working in the film industry. They are so popular that even Bollywood directors want to cast them in their new projects!
When comparing the television landscape of India and Pakistan, it is easy to see why Pakistani dramas are so good. Let’s break it down and see exactly why our dramas are better:
It’s Quality Over Quantity
Unless the show is a light sitcom like Friends, there is really no need for it to keep churning out new episodes year after year for a decade! Indian dramas are the worst offenders and typically overly dramatic in the way how they they draw out one scene over multiple episodes. Instead of completing a story arc, producers stretch out the show with ridiculous plot twists that kills the interest of the viewers. How ridiculous? Troupes such as the ever-tired plastic facial surgery is being used to revive long dead characters. Case in point, Mr Bajaj returns with a ‘new face’ in Kasautii Zindagii Kay:
With a twist like that, a family drama like Kum Kum or Kyun Keh Saas Bhi Kabi Bahu Thi becomes more like an episode of Doctor Who! Indian drama writers struggle to come up with a satisfactory conclusion.
This is where Pakistani dramas shine. Shows like Hum Safar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, or the recent mega hit Mere Pass Tum Ho are immensely popular because the show has a start and an end. The story is more focused without any irrelevant subplots. Pakistani series are short and crisp and often consist of no more than 20-25 episodes. Due to this short duration and to-the-point writing, Pakistani shows are so enjoyable to watch and fans do not lose interest in them.
They Capture The Essence Of The Moment
It takes skills to capture an emotional moment and convey the true depth of a scene. A strong dramatic scene needs a low-key ominous or melancholic background music to engage audience. Subtle focus is placed on the characters’ expression changes. Scenes from shows like Hum Safar, where Fawad Khan’s character realizes he had been lied to by his mother is brilliant example of the director capturing the tone of the scene as well as the actor subtly changing his expressions from shocked to sad to angry.
https://youtu.be/AVy3Ytrs1E4
Meanwhile, Indian shows have become a parody of themselves. The most overly used troupe of capturing shocking or dramatic moments is done via multiple cut shots. Instead of 2-3 characters for a scene, Indian shows have the whole cast present for the moment. Hence, the camera cuts to every character’s face, multiple times! And if that’s not enough, there is an overly dramatic music in the background and the characters have to make over the top shocked expressions to convince audience that yes, this is a very serious scene. Here are some of the most dramatic moments from Indian drama serials.
These are just two examples of why Pakistani dramas are far superior to Indian dramas. Even well-known Bollywood celebrities are fans of Pakistani dramas and have nothing but praises for our drama industry.
For those who still believe this post is biased, here’s a clip from a popular Indian show. We’ll let you be the judge.
https://youtu.be/95sZd6PiLn0
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Indian dramas can not compare Pakistani drama