SPY EYES

Pakistan’s entertainment industry has been on a continuous path of decline for the past few decades,barring some developments and hits every now and then. The strict censorship laws enforced under Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization program dealt a deathly blow to the progressive and forward-looking artistic ethos of Lollywood,the term used to refer to Pakistan’s almost-dead cinema industry. Before Zia-ul-Haq’s regime came into power,Pakistan’s Lollywood was much better than India’s Bollywood –which is now the world’s second-largest entertainment industry after America’s Hollywood –and Pakistani actors such as Waheed Murad and Muhammad Ali were South Asian icons whose talents on-screen were respected even by giants such as Amitabh Bachchan,Rajesh Kapoor,Shatrugan Sinha,and other big names of India’s cinema industry. But the fact remains that for the last twenty years,Pakistan has yet to produce a box-office blockbuster like Syed Noor’s “Chooriyan”(bangles),the only hit that Pakistan’s current generation can even think of. Pakistan’s TV industry has only generated one hit TV serial,“Humsafar”or “Woh Humsafar Tha”,a show that became a hit not only at home,but with the Pakistani expatriate community abroad as well,which was hooked to episodes of the show uploaded on Youtube –its 23 episodes were broadcast by the Pakistani TV channel Hum TV.

Now,Pakistan’s entertainment industry –the TV industry in particular,known as the “silver screen”–is vehemently decrying “foreign influences”in TV shows run by Pakistani channels,claiming that such shows do not represent Pakistan’s culture and are having a detrimental impact on the local TV show industry. The label of “foreign influences”is not ascribed to Indian TV shows and soap operas –a country which refuses to allow even Pakistani news channels to be broadcast on its airwaves –but to Turkish TV shows whose Urdu-dubbed versions have started becoming hit series in Pakistan since “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”(Aşk-ı-Memnu in Turkish) was broadcast by Urdu1 channel,and became the 9-o-clock necessity for many Pakistanis all over the country last year. The irony is that Turkish TV shows with a quasi-European outlook –women wearing mini-skirts,and the consumption of alcohol being displayed as a part of normal life –is considered a foreign influence that does not conform to Pakistani culture,whereas Indian TV shows –which show scenes of idol-worship,heavy use of Sanskrit and Marathi language instead of Urdu or even Punjabi and,in certain cases,depict racist and communalist tendencies against Muslims to be the right thing to do –do not fall into the same category for Pakistan’s current TV show performers (who may or may not be considered icons and legends) like Samina Ahmad,Usman Peerzada,Firdos Jamal,Maria Wasti,Ghulam Muhiuddin,Shaukat Ali,Sardar Kamran,Irfan Mughal and Rashid Mahmood,who came out on the streets to protest what they called “foreign influences”in December 2012.

The broadcasting of the dubbed version of Turkey’s “Aşk-ı-Memnu”by Urdu1 as “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”–the first instance of a Turkish TV show being shown in Pakistan,and the most watched of TV shows from that country thus far –cannot really be termed as cultural collaboration between Pakistan and Turkey’s entertainment industries:what really riled up Pakistan’s TV show industry was that the broadcasting of a dubbed TV serial cost much,much less than the production of a locally-shot and directed TV show with Pakistani actors and actresses,all of whom had to be paid along with the production staff (the dubbed TV shows only required payment to the people doing voice-overs,as well as the audio editing staff). Therefore,the costs of a dubbed TV show were much less than producing a home-grown TV show with a unique,local script,and when the former acquired more popularity than the latter,it was obvious that TV industry personalities came out on the streets to protect and save their own sources of income using the abovementioned (and clarified) claim of “foreign influences”and the distorted definition thereof.

The story of “Aşk-ı-Memnu”/”Ishq-e-Mamnoo”is based on a book written by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil in 1899-1900,and was been converted into a TV series as early as 1975,which is considered to be the first miniseries on Turkish television. The current version was broadcast on Kanal D between 2008 and 2010. After “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”became a nationwide hit –and increased the popularity of Urdu1 TV channel as well as Turkish TV shows manifold –in Pakistan,many other Turkish TV shows have been dubbed and broadcast on Pakistani channels:“Noor”–a hit in Turkey as well as all over the Middle East –“Intikaam”,“Muhabbat”,“Bewafai”and “Mera Sultan”on Geo Kahani,“Fatima Gul:Janay Mera Kasoor Kya”,“Kuzey Guney”and “Feriha”on Urdu1,“Woh Ishq Jo Mamnoo Na Raha”on Express TV (among others) are the latest to follow suit. Urdu1 also experimented with dubbing a Spanish TV serial –which was titled “Ik Dhund Si Chaayi Hai”–to see if it would click with the Pakistani TV audience,but to no avail. Despite that,Urdu1 made Beren Saat (who plays the character “Bihter”in “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”,and was the main character in “Fatima Gul”,and now in Geo Kahani’s “Intikaam”) a celebrity in Pakistan:now they are broadcasting “Feriha”(starring Hazal Kaya,who is the main/title character of the show,and played the role of “Nihal”in “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”) on the 9-o-clock slot to cash in and maximize on their viewership thanks to “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”and its characters,and have even restarted broadcasting “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”on the 10-o-clock slot,right after “Feriha”. Not only Turkish female celebrities,but also male celebrities like Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ –the heartthrob who played the role of playboy “Behlul”in “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”,and stars in “Noor”,“Kuzey Guney”,and “Manahil Aur Khalil:Woh Ishq Jo Mamnoo Na Raha”–have become icons in Pakistan.

But only “Mera Sultan”–a dramatization based on the life of Sultan Suleman “The Magnificent”,the tenth emperor of the Turkish empire,and the politics and intrigue of his harem –is believed to have come even close to the kind of popularity enjoyed by “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”. The TV show was broadcast as “Muhteşem Yüzyıl”or “Magnificent Century”on Show TV,and then transferred to Star TV. Muhteşem Yüzyıl is currently in its fourth season. “Muhteşem Yüzyıl”is not only being dubbed and broadcast in Pakistan,but also in over 50 countries,and it is the focus of much sociopolitical controversy in Turkey as well as in Europe and other countries abroad:even people like the Turkish Prime Minister,along with MP Oktay Saral,are critical of the depiction of the historical figures in the show,claiming that the TV show is distorting and misrepresenting Turkish historical icons,casting them in a negative light (as Turkish PM Erdoğan said) which is not historically accurate;on the other hand,countries like Greece have decried the popularity of the drama serial in their homelands (because these countries were erstwhile enemies and adversaries of the Turkish empire and the Ottoman Sultanate) –Macedonia has gone so far as to ban the broadcast of this show by local TV and cable operators –as these nations and governments use the “foreign influences”argument to oppose the broadcasting of this Turkish TV show in their home countries,which (with historical accuracy,rightfully so) depicts the empire of Turkey in a very favourable light as a rising regional power that is in the process of territorial expansion,taking over or having already subdued or supplanted European monarchies,island kingdoms in the Mediterranean Sea and other nations bordering this Sea,Middle Eastern kingdoms and fiefdoms that existed at the time,and even Russia and Central Asia in its continuing (and successful) conquests in the east. Indeed,Sultan Suleman,the son of Sultan Selim and the tenth emperor of the Turkish empire,was a very successful ruler –perhaps one of the most successful and famous of the Turkish imperatorial dynasty,since he became known as “Suleman The Magnificent”by the West and as “Suleman the Lawgiver”(Suleman Kanuni) in the East - and was responsible for the establishment and expansion of the Turkish empire under his rule to a great extent. In his 46-year reign,Sultan Suleman personally led Ottoman armies in conquering the Christian strongholds of Belgrade,Rhodes,as well as most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529. He annexed much of the Middle East in his conflict with the Safavids and large areas of North Africa as far west as Algeria. Under his rule,the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and through the Persian Gulf. Thus,it is only natural that nations and states that have historically and geopolitically been opposed to Turkey –the Ottoman empire,or the post-WWI Turkish republic –would not be too keen to have their local audiences see Turkish history in a favourable light (and their own histories as marred with political ineptitude and military inefficiency that eventually fell under Turkish rule if not Turkish domination,or became subjects of the Turkish/Ottoman empire in one way or another).

“Mera Sultan”brings Nebahat Çehre –playing the character of “Ayesha Hafsa Sultan”,the mother of Sultan Suleman and therefore known as “Valida-e-Sultan”,who was Miss Turkey in 1960 and played the role of “Bihter”s mother “Mrs. Firdous”in “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”–and Nur Fettahoğlu –who played the role of “Bihter”‘s sister “Peyker”in “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”,and plays the role of “Mah-e-Douran”,Sultan Suleman’s first wife and the mother of his first son Prince Mustafa,in “Mera Sultan”–back to the Pakistani TV screens. However,they are overshadowed by the performance of Halit Ergenç –a well-known Turkish TV and film celebrity who expertly takes on the role of the main character,Sultan Suleman,and has also played the role of Ataturk Mustafa Kemal Pasha in the film “Dersimiz:Atatürk”,among other star perfomances on the Turkish golden and silver screen –and Meryem Uzerli –who plays the role of “Alessandra”and later given the Muslim name “Hooram Sultan”after her conversion to Islam,her successful seduction of –and eventual marriage to –the Sultan.

The role of “Hooram Sultan”is a dramatization and characteristic portrayal of Roxelana,the real second wife of Sultan Suleman The Magnificent who was given the name “Hürrem Haseki Sultan”–which means the “hoor”or heavenly/angelic woman who belongs to the Sultan (though it is also believed that her Muslim name is derived from the Persian “Khurram”,meaning “the cheerful one”) –after her marriage to the Sultan and conversion to Islam,and was the first Empress in real Turkish history to wield actual political power that was previously the sole domain of the Emperor,and other males appointed by him to his court as Vazir’s (Ministers),Mushir’s (Advisors and later Field Marshals),Pasha’s (Generals),Effendi’s (Master or Esquire),Vali’s (governors) and Bey’s ,cheiftain,son of a Pasha,or a “Sir”) of the Sultanate. “Mera Sultan”focuses more on the family and the harem of the Sultan –and the struggles and intrigues therein,which give the women of the TV show a more important and focal role than the males in the show –rather than the politics,international strategy and war history of Sultan Suleman The Magnificent.

This is not to say that Turkish –or other foreign,including Indian –TV shows are the only form of entertainment being broadcast by Pakistani TV channels and watched by the Pakistani audience. Many local TV shows continue to be broadcast,while new TV serials are being produced and launched,meeting some standards of success. The comedy TV show “Bulbulay”that was shown by ARY Digital is a nationwide attraction –making Hina Dilpazeer (who plays the role of “Momo”) a well-known celebrity in Pakistan –and other TV soap operas such as “Mera Saeen”and “Zindagi Gulzaar Hai”can be considered locally-produced hit TV series that show various aspects of Pakistani life and society (especially the continuity of feudal power in one form or another). Shows like “Teri Rah Mein Rul Gayi Weh”could not register as much success as the abovementioned.

But TV shows are not the only part of Pakistan’s entertainment industry:while the visual dimension (both TV and cinema) of the industry continue to suffer because of lack of originality,investment,or even talent,the audio industry has definitely been on the rise since over a decade. After bands like “Vital Signs”and “Junoon”brough pop and rock home to Pakistan,developing unique versions of fusion music in the country,an underground rock culture was established and was firmly entrenched in Pakistani society at the turn of the 21st century. The TV channel “Indus Music”became the MTV of Pakistan,pioneering the development of the modern music industry,and broadcasting music videos of songs both old and new. Bands such as “Noori”and “Entity Paradigm”took the cue from their predecessors and held jam-packed,sold-out concerts in the early years of the last decade,and new bands such as “Jal”,“Call”and others came out with one-hit wonders and hit singles such as “Aadat”,“Jilawatan”,“Wujud”,and other songs. As the three-member band “Junoon”broke up,the two-member band “Strings”continued to perform at home and abroad,and even at political rallies as of late. After the passing of the vocal legend Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,his nephew,Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,has been recognized as a vocal maestro and has a dedicated fan following around the world:he is regularly booked for concerts in India,Pakistan,Canada,the U.K. and the U.S.,and contributes lead vocals to many songs for Indian movies. Sadly,no Pakistani film has been able to acquire Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s unique and coveted services,who has only sung the new theme song for Urdu1′s re-broadcast of “Ishq-e-Mamnoo”.

“Jal”band’s Atif Aslam,and the solo artist Ali Zafar,have also made a niche for themselves in India’s film industry,contributing vocals and music to many songs. Ali Zafar has also appeared in the film “Terey Bin Laden”–based on the TV reporting of former Al Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden,and how a news team discovers an Osama lookalike and then gets him to make statements which they record and broadcast –which was banned from cinemas in Pakistan despite the fact that a Pakistani actor starred as a main role character in the Indian-produced film;the Pakistani government feared backlash from terror groups and militant outfits which either operated under Al Qaeda command,or were allied to the transnational Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group (and out of respect for the international terrorist leader,who was known as “The Sheikh”,may have targeted Pakistani cinemas with bomb blasts or other attacks had the film been screened here). While other Indian films with Indian actors and actresses continue to be screened in Pakistani cinemas,“Terey Bin Laden”has yet to be screened in such a manner.

Veena Malik,who also acquired small roles in some Indian films,became the focus of controversy for her acting and performance in Indian film songs (known as “item songs”,which are packaged and sold on the explicit or subtle display of female sexuality) –her most stinging controversy was a cover story by FHM India magazine,which contained almost-nude pictures (still a taboo in Pakistan,and an unthinkable venture for any Pakistani actress or female model to undertake,especially because of established conservative and rising extremist tendencies at home) of her:while she denied that she had posed nude for the magazine,the latter stuck by their story and published proof that she had. Nevertheless,for better or for worse,Veena Malik –who started out as the hostess of Geo TV’s comedy/satire program “Hum Sab Umeed Say Hain”–also became a celebrity in Pakistan,and later appeared on the Indian reality TV show “Bigg Boss”,for which she was also criticized (in an interview on a Pakistani news channel,she was criticized by a cleric for her actions on the show and for her alleged relations with an Indian actor,but she aggressively shot back in her defense and countered the cleric with criticism of her own –making that particular interview of that particular TV news show a widely-watched episode,and a phenomenon that was used and re-used by many who looked to popularize the open criticism of clerics as well as the novel initiative undertaken by Veena in the “ways and means”available to counter the rising power of clerics in Pakistan).

As the impact of terrorist activities increased in Pakistan,concerts not only became harder to arrange,but rising taxes on entertainment also transformed concerts into less of a lucrative and profitable venture than they were half a decade ago –it is believed that the new government in Pakistan has also introduced a tax amount to lakhs of Rupees on EACH SINGLE episode of a foreign/non-Pakistani TV show that is broadcast by a TV channel in Pakistan! Despite that,the music industry in Pakistan did not fizzle out like the cinematic or TV industry:Coca Cola,the international beverage giant,sponsored a series of live studio recordings that were later broadcast as “Coke Studio”–each episode of a season was a song performed either by an established/well-known band or vocalist/musician/performer,or by an up-and-coming/rising star in the music industry (usually a vocalist,like Bilal Khan),or by a mixture of different bands or vocalists. Almost all icons of the Pakistani music industry,belonging to all kinds of genres,participated in “Coke Studio”:from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Abidah Parveen to Noori and EP,from Arif Lohar and Meesha Shafi to soloists/vocalists from classical/folk genres as well as bands from modern (pop/rock/fusion) genres. The episodes and seasons of “Coke Studio”became instant hits in Pakistan,whether they created/produced new songs or developed reprisals or “covers”(newer versions) of older songs that were hits of the yesteryears in Pakistan. While “Coke Studio”offered an opportunity to existing Pakistani musicians and bands to showcase their talent again and perform for the Pakistani audience at large –without fear of bomb blasts or terror attacks against such “immoral and un-Islamic”activities –it also introduced new musical talent in the country,like the Chakwal Group –a quintet of five vocalists –among others. Since the “episodes”of “Coke Studio”would usually range from three to five minutes,many channels were able to broadcast them –especially the “Coke Studio”versions of the songs that became hits after their release. “Coke Studio”also recorded behind-the-scenes interviews of the performers,the elements of the “Coke Studio”band,and the music production and recording team(s). Owing to the success of “Coke Studio”,the coffee brand “Nescafe”is also coming up with its own attempt to put some life and insert some energy into Pakistan’s music industry in a similar fashion,by currently recording the first season of “Nescafe Basement”according to sources and TV advertisments. The “Coke Studio”project and outputs were not only a hit in Pakistan:they were also noticed in India,which developed a similar audio-visual TV series called “The Dewarists”,focusing on collaboration between musicians from different backgrounds and genres to create new songs or to create new covers of old songs.

While the music industry of Pakistan shows the most promise among all the components of the country’s entertainment industry,more and more foreign TV shows –whether Turkish,or Indian,or from other countries –are being shown at home as the local TV industry fails to get a boost from any element of production,or from the TV show viewers in Pakistan who still watch dubbed versions of Turkish TV shows more than they would watch Pakistani TV shows. The cinematic industry –despite the release of some recent hits like “Bhai Log”in the past few years –seems dead and non-resuscitable when compared to Bollywood (which has completely overtaken Pakistani cinemas and home viewers,who watch bootleg versions of Indian movies on computer-operated channels run by cable operators) or to Hollywood,which has recently released a Warner Brothers’production called “Waar”,produced by Rohail Lashari and starring Pakistani film star Shaan (full name Shaan Shahid). Despite the fact that the movie is recorded in Urdu language,it remains an open discussion as to whether “Waar”is a Pakistani film,or an American film with a Pakistani cast and crew that was produced by a leading U.S. film production house –one of the biggest and oldest at that. Since “Waar”deals with the problem of extremism,terrorism and militancy in Pakistan,its release was delayed by a few years despite the fact that production and editing on the film was complete –the same thing happened with the American movie “G.I. Joe 3″,whose intro sequence was about Pakistani nuclear weapons being stolen by either the “G.I. Joe”s or the villain “Cobra”teams,and so,the film was not screened in Pakistan,despite its global popularity and spectacular ratings at the U.S. box office. Similarly,the indie film “Slackistan”,which received mixed views from audiences and somewhat unfavourable views from critics,was banned from cinema release by the Censor Board in 2011 (even though it propelled Aisha Linnea Akhtar’s career as a model for linen wear and as an actress for advertisments so far).

But the fact remains that state sensitivity and censorship is the least important (or effective,as “Waar”WAS eventually released in Pakistan,and “G.I. Joe 3″can be downloaded in the country through torrents and in spite a continuing ban on Youtube) of the impediments faced by the cinematic and TV entertainment industry. Lack or absence of investment is perhaps the biggest problem that the cinema industry faces,and this problem of raising capital is also being seen when it comes to producing TV shows. Original scripts are hard to find or develop,especially for cinema,while it is easier to develop and execute scripts for three-day theater plays (in English,in Urdu,or in multilingual format) than to do the same for Pakistani TV shows. Talent is also an issue,since the cinema industry contains the same faces that it has for the past 20 years –in a slight contrast (and show of improvement),the TV industry has brought around new faces in the last 10 years and also in the last 5 years. Shamoon Abbasi is perhaps a singular success story in Pakistan,who ascended from the Pakistani TV screens to a role in the film “Waar”alongside veteran actor Shaan. Perhaps the biggest issue facing the Pakistani cinema industry is lack of modern technology,since films are recorded and edited using obsolete equipment even today,while Hollywood and even Bollywood have developed the capacity to create sci-fi movies with 3d sequences and other state-of-the-art production elements of the modern cinematic age. When production sequences of “The Matrix”movies wowed audiences around the world,Hollywood turned yet another page in its history of technological leadership in entertainment with the release of the movie “Avatar”in 2009,which was shot completely in 3d format,and took four years for the veteran award-winning director Steven Spielberg to direct and produce. “Inception”is another movie that shows how far Hollywood has come in terms of showing movies with a sci-fi aspect,with multidimensional recording and display sequences and –most importantly –with originality in the development and execution of a movie script.

In March 2011,it was reported that a production house in Pakistan was coming up with Pakistan’s first real sci-fi movie (even though “Shanee”was released in 1989),called “Kolachi”,which was supposedly based on the end of times and nuclear holocaust or nuclear winter in Karachi,and was apparently shot in that city too –originally slated to be released in 2012 (which was incidentally assumed by many people and cultures to be the year of the apocalypse) “Kolachi”has yet to see the light of day,or even report any progress as to how far it has come and when it will be released. Even as liberal arts students in BNU and Indus Valley learn graphic designing and other advanced computer-based skills that would make them important if not indispensable assets in taking the Pakistani film industry to the next level,introducing modern techniques and applying latest,state-of-the-art tools in film production,Pakistani cinema houses and film production companies –which have themselves become victims of neglect,and have fallen into such a state of disrepair and despair that they seem powerless to get out of it and rescue their own selves and their source of livelihood –have yet to take notice of this growing local,in-house capacity in Pakistan,which is not just based on trial and error,experience and application,but is taught and studied in an academic sense at the university level by undergraduate and graduate students.

Overall,it seems that a lack of coordination and an absence of the will to introduce a systemic change –on part of the government or its agencies that look after the entertainment industry and the development and progression of local,indigenous culture;or on the part of the private sector,the film production houses,the producers and directors,the writers,the actors and actresses,even the cinema-house owners –has kept the Pakistani cinema industry in the state it has been in for the past couple of decades. One hopes that,by commission or omission,the TV industry does not fall victim to the same problems,and that the music industry –which has exported itself to more lucrative markets in India and elsewhere –can continue to thrive and boom in Pakistan:in the end,somehow,maybe the music industry can rescue the film industry if not the TV industry,by making the same contributions to Pakistani cinema that they do to Indian cinema. But that is not likely,because it is foolish to expect any sort of national service from people who work,operate and provide their services to the highest bidder in terms of pay and salaries,perks and privileges,and –most importantly,in terms of every aspect of the entertainment industry –recognition of talent.