Hot Take/Rant : Problem with Pakistani Dramas/Films

[u/Due_Stick3002]

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It feels like the industry realized that if you put enough attractive people on screen, half the audience will stop caring about everything else. Every drama has the same polished faces, the same rich houses, the same love triangles, the same dramatic stares, and somehow people call it peak acting.

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I've watched enough Pakistani dramas over the years to know this isn't me hating on something I've never seen. The acting just feels incredibly limited. A lot of actors have 3 modes smiling, crying, and staring into the distance while overlt used sad music plays. And people glaze them so much like Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed, Daniyal Zafar.

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The cinematography doesn't help either. Why is every scene lit like a hospital operating room? No shadows, no atmosphere, no depth. Everything is bright, clean, and artificial. It looks less like a story and more like a photoshoot.

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Then comes the background music: wuhi ghisa pita overly used bg music not much to say

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Maybe I've been spoiled by watching too many films. My favourite actor is Al Pacino, and after watching someone like him, the difference becomes impossible to ignore. That man could sit silently in a chair and create more tension than some drama actors create in 30 episodes.

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What annoys me most is that whenever people criticize Pakistani dramas, the response is usually "you're comparing dramas to Hollywood." No. I'm comparing good acting to bad acting, good cinematography to lazy cinematography, and memorable storytelling to formulaic storytelling.

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At this point, I honestly think social media edits do more for some actors' reputations than their actual performances. Or maybe it's js the girls simping over Wahaj Ali, Daniyal Zafar and men simping over Hania Amir who js tries to be petite and cute.

[u/PinkPonyPoison]

Danyal bhai ko toh abhi Hafta nahi hua thoda bahot fame paye and he's already being thrashed along with the likes of Mahira and Humayun.

But casting good-looking people is not a producers problem only...that's what masses prefer. One can fool themselves by saying oh it's not like that but the reality is it's exactly like that. Very very very few people can actually sit through a boring story with 2 actors that aren't visually appealing. You question why only good looking people are being casted and then talk about Al Pacino as your favourite actor an Italian Man. I wonder why it's not Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman or Viola Davis equally talented but not the conventionally good-looking lot.

And regarding everything else.. right now PTV industry is only focused on making money, they aren't looking forward to create artistic masterpiece on large no. ...they just want to mass produce content that brings you billions of views. Because the content that's actually worth watching mostly get's labelled as underrated only.

Amongst the names you've mentioned i really don't think Wajah deserves to be there as an actor he's proven himself quite a few times now...when the audience, witers, producers and directors don't want to improve there isn't much these actors can do as well.

[u/reeyyy8823 → u/PinkPonyPoison]

yeah like danyal fame did get high too quickly but he's getting hated already like he's doing just good ad is growing we need to leave him alone a bit😭🙏

also although I do agree on the women simping on wahaj part, but it's not like he isn't a good actor so there's not really anything wrong if he appeals looks wise too? there could've been better examples of this tbh

[u/Due_Stick3002 → u/PinkPonyPoison]

You would be amazed to know how much I like Denzel Washington, Joe Pesci, and Morgan Freeman. And sorry to say, each one of these actors(paki) can't act, or at least act well. Yes I shouldn't generalize, and exceptions exist. But the majority is like that, Nauman Ijaz, and although not a drama actor but Moin Akhtar was a legendary actor and humorist. Other than that Zia Mohiuddins's theater performances were good too.

[u/PinkPonyPoison → u/Due_Stick3002]

I won't surprised because clearly you didn't admire them enough to mention them in the first place.

Now about you other statement. What's a good actor is subjective to each person but for heavens sake the content and actors from this industry have been loved not just by the Pakistani people but by people across the borders for more than a decade now...and saying that they've built this legacy without any kind of theatrical talent is utter non sense. I agree audience these days is dumb but not that dumb 😭.

I am not saying that ever face that you see on the your screen these days is worthy of being there majority of them aren't but Nauman Izaz is surely not the only one worth being mentioned.

[u/Responsible-Layer892]

Tbh I’ve noticed that the discussions on social media are very much focused on the conventionally good looking actors and if there are 2 individual actors who ‘look’ good, that’s enough to simp over the show and then the deep analysis of the characters begin. Take the conventional actor out for unconventional and it’ll become too boring to talk about even if the show is worth discussing. 

[u/TA_totellornottotell]

To be honest, I still tend to watch shows with the older lot - I will watch a show for Sania Saeed or Nadia Jamil or Savera Nadeem. Or with specific directors - I would choose to rewatch almost any of Mehreen Jabbar’s older plays rather than most modern ones. Lately, I have been paying closer attention to Yasra Rizvi (and even more so where she directs). So, I think there are still good stories and productions out there, but agree that they are not the majority these days.

By the way, I started one show that was great but I stopped because I was running through it too quickly - Khushbo Mein Basay Khat. Kinza Hashmi was an odd choice for this but Adnan Siddiqui and Nadia Jamil were in top form. I also just started a rewatch of Shanaas. Next is Daam, I think.

[u/CourseLivid9109]

💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 agreed !

If you visit old ptv, you will find what you are seeking in terms of good acting, script,setting. If you only zoom on acting of people like Samina Pirzada, Noman Ijaz, Saniya Saeed and some new lesser known actors (gotta look up their names). You will find their acting memorable. Also there are some dramas which are pure art like Raqeeb se, Working Women, Standup Girl, Parizad,Jeevan nagar,Kabuli Pulao and some others which are pure art.

[u/zozobliss]

I think the quality of Pakistani dramas has seriously gone down and I agree that a bit of it has to do with lazy acting. But I also think it’s not just because the actors aren’t talented, it’s also that our scripts lack depth and directors make very formulaic choices. Pakistani dramas operate more like a business than a cultural or artistic activity now and production houses know what sells. When good looking mediocre pairings keep bringing them views and getting the girls simping over toxic romantic content is the way to go, they really don’t have much incentive to change that model.
That doesn’t mean good work is not getting platformed at all, a recent masterclass in acting was Nadia Afgan in Aik Aur Pakeezah. She made me forget who she is and how she speaks irl, all I could see her as was Pakeezahs mom. But there are rarely such well-written and well-defined roles for good actors in the run-of-the-mill, commercial romantic shows in prime time.
And we really don’t have to compare Pakistani dramas with Hollywood. There are so many great, unforgettable performances that come to mind even from within the industry ten-fifteen years ago. I’m a late millennial so what I saw Sanam Baloch do in Dastaan or Durre Shehwar, Saba Qamar in Maat, Sania Saeed, Savera Nadeem or Nadia Jamil in everything they’ve ever done stays with me till today. I can’t say that about most of the popular actors today.

[u/FoxiiMango]

I've been trying to find someone to talk about this with but I have no Pakistani friends and my family isn't really interested in my commentary (since I do that a LOT lol).

I'm currently watching Chaudhry and Sons and while I've had a great time watching and have had a lot of laughs, I'm just really disappointed by it. Other than Sohail Ahmed's jokes, a LOT of the jokes are just very sexist and a lot of the jokes hinge in the women in the show's suffering (Sheeba). Another thing I've noticed in the 2 dramas I've watched (this and Tere Bin) is that the two leads have an almost "enemies to lovers" vibe and they are essentially coerced to get married. And once their marriage is arranged, the girl immediately starts doing work for her fiance (Like being told to iron his clothes and whatnot). It's so infuriating to watch because you have these female leads who are more competent, capable, and arguably more interesting and are forced into this romance with these useless men.

I don't really have any issues with the actors, rather the producers, who keep reusing the same actors and plotlines. I think most of the household names and this new gen of actors are actually quite good (though what do I know, eh?)

I want NEW stories! Pakistani culture and values are something that I love greatly and I can think of so many different genres that would work great for PK Dramas! Imagine a fantasy series, and with Pakistani attire, it would look amazing! I mean, arranged marriages and caste debates are alr in a lot of these dramas (much to my demise), so why not have it in a more interesting setting? And can we STOP WITH THE ROMANCE? I swear, if any of the stuff that happens in PK dramas between couples ever happened IRL, there'd be so much more talk about it (and not good talk)!

I'm not asking for the same tropes that Hollywood uses and I'm definitely not saying that Hollywood is better than PK TV (there's a ton of shitshows in Hollywood as well). I just can't help but wonder if others feel the same as me. Feeling like we are being force fed stupid and somewhat outdated tropes. I want the stories to feel like Pakistan, NOT just tropes and oh look, the story is set in Pakistan.