Discover the common ingredients in most Pakistani shows
Mahira Khan.
Mumbai: A few random thoughts on Zindagi, the new Zee channel showing Pakistani serials, especially after author Chitra Divakaruni has accused the makers of the TV show Mera Naseeb, which is being shown on Zindagi, of plagiarism. She accuses the producers of borrowing the plot from her novel Sister Of My Heart.
1 Lower and lower middle-class women wear salwar-kameez while the rich educated and upper middle-class wear saris, with heads uncovered.
The fashion statement for smart young girls is something frightful called a frock which is a long gathered dress worn up to the ankles, along with loose bell-bottom pants and a flowing dupatta. There’s also a black half-cloak half-hood worn every time they venture outside.
2 Servants are treated like serfs. No Ramu kaka here. Women are treated little better. In many serials mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have mutual empathy for each other because of being oppressed by their menfolk.. But the content matter is treated sympathetically and a gripping serial emerges. Otherwise it’s the usual mother-in-law vs daughter-in-law stuff of Indian serials, with the ma-in-law demanding a potha (male heir) or else!
3 Despite the by-the-minute pious calls to Allah mian, there’s no problem with their boys and girls intermingling at universities, gardens and other public places. Hmmm, wonder where the mullas are? No fatwas against indecent behaviour? Of course, they’re nowhere near our dare-bare actors with their plunging necklines and backless cholis.
4 Almost all the songs and tunes they hum, whether in Karachi/Lahore or in the boondocks is from Hindi films. Incidentally, according to them, the most beautiful woman on earth is Aishwarya Rai!
5 Their older female characters range from pleasantly plump to downright fat. But when they essay a flashback, they look scary with atrocious wigs and slapped-on make-up. The other way of making a young woman age is to turn her hair into a flaming carrot orange atrocity.
6 Though excruciatingly slow, the serials become addictive after a while. Pakistan TV seems to have only a handful of actors who appear again and again. So much so that you become confused about who is what in which serial.
7 Mercifully, they stick to one idea line and wrap up the serial in 15-30 episodes, unlike ours that drag on for years.
8 It’s obvious they’re working on a shoestring budget cause the same sets and outdoor scenes are shown again and again.
9 Their sense of humour is the same as ours, loud and crude making fun of those who are dark, or stammer etc.
10 They give you a strange sense of deja vu. As though the characters are like us and strangers as well. Go figure that out!
Repetitive words
The makers of soaps across the border seem to share a strong connect with certain words and phrases as they are frequently mouthed by characters across shows all the time. Here are some of the words:
Aitbaar: Trust
Jahil admi: Boorish/uncivilised man
Hazir-Nazir: Present and over-looking. Witnessing. This term is used when a wedding is being discussed.
Majazi Khuda: This is what husbands are referred to by their wives, or the men sometimes call themselves that when explaining their self-importance to the women.
Alaa khandaan: Very good/prominent family.
( Source : dc )
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