PTV, PTV, Where Art Thou?
Before things started going viral on social media, and even before 9/11 triggered the age of breaking news on digital media in 2001, there was the Y2K bug. People all over the world talked about it. It was meant to wreak havoc on computers and computer systems world-wide.
[bs-quote quote=”One moment the PTV we knew was there. The next, poof! Vanished! Gone!” style=”style-17″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Aina Maria Waseem” author_job=”Freelance Writer & Contributor, Baaghi TV”][/bs-quote]
Then somehow, presumably one Ethan Hunt was sent on a Mission Impossible and he managed to avert the crisis; only, he redirected it to a lesser target. One moment the PTV we knew was there. The next, poof! Vanished! Gone!
While Diriliş Ertuğrul has raised uncomfortable questions about our raison d’être on this earthly abode and set up countless backs, it has administered a reviving injection to the comatose national television through its massive popularity. It has reminded us that of late PTV has merely been churning out repeats of dramas from private channels. This is the first time in two decades that the desire to tune in to PTV has assumed noticeable proportions. Yet, as Pakistan and Turkey embarked on a joint fifth generation war effort of which the Urdu airing of the hit show is a milestone, the need for a coordinated strategy of pooling and maximising resources emerged. To fight any war successfully, it is necessary for the weapons to be in perfect condition. Yet PTV, that self-contained acting varsity, honer of countless talent, and ceaseless purveyor of masterpieces that did not come at the outrageous budgets of today, lies under the same thick layer of dust that descended on it in the wake of the quake that struck it down, and accumulated over the years. That has become so literal that a blockbuster and a gem like Uncle Urfi has to be watched, cut down, washed out and through a grey haze, and yet accompanied by gales of laughter at Hasnaat Bhai’s quintessential “Chaakoo hai meray paas”, and Afsheen’s antics, including a daring rescue from the duns of the male lead cast opposite her, a la Georgette Heyer’s The Grand Sophy.
[bs-quote quote=”This is the first time in two decades that the desire to tune in to PTV has assumed noticeable proportions. Yet, as Pakistan and Turkey embarked on a joint fifth generation war effort of which the Urdu airing of the hit show is a milestone, the need for a coordinated strategy of pooling and maximising resources emerged.” style=”style-17″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Aina Maria Waseem ” author_job=”Freelance Writer & Contributor, Baaghi TV”][/bs-quote]
The last blockbuster associated with PTV that I remember, is the inimitable Alpha Bravo Charlie in 1998. I remember the excitement around it being so much that after the promising first episode that some people had missed, they decided to add two repeat time-slots. I remember the feverish anticipation for the next episode. I remember the brave young man hiding behind Kashif’s spontaneous jokes, only waiting for the homeland to strike the right chord in his heart. I remember the drive for serving humanity and the philosophical mind behind Shehnaz’s eccentric brilliance. I remember the sheer ability and courage behind Gulsher’s complexes, and the sensitive soul behind Faraz’s Mr Perfect exterior. Great writing, a flawless plot, brilliant direction and camerawork, refreshing acting by the unseasoned cast, its simplicity, its core of healthy realism, and its spontaneity, were all hallmarks not just of the brand that is Shoaib Mansoor but the banner that was PTV. Yet, with all its sheer perfection, it was also near the end of the Golden Era: almost a swan-song.
Nowadays, if we want to watch a PTV classic, we better hope that whoever has uploaded it online, has managed to get hold of a decent print. We watched a repeat of Samundar in the early 2000’s. It would be broadcast daily and we who had not watched it on its first run, would keep wondering aloud how on earth people waited a whole week for the coming episode when we can’t wait for 24 hours.
[bs-quote quote=”Great writing, a flawless plot, brilliant direction and camerawork, refreshing acting by the unseasoned cast, its simplicity, its core of healthy realism, and its spontaneity, were all hallmarks not just of the brand that is Shoaib Mansoor but the banner that was PTV. Yet, with all its sheer perfection, it was also near the end of the Golden Era: almost a swan-song.” style=”style-17″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Aina Maria Waseem ” author_job=”Freelance Writer & Contributor, Baaghi TV”][/bs-quote]
Recently though, we failed to find a reasonably watchable form of it online. PTV needs to rebuild its lost identity but as it does so, it also needs to find and restore as many of those dramas as it can. One drama that can be found in a good print and that is relevant to this day, is Chand Grehan, the story of the feudal lord politician, the media mogul, and the bureaucrat, and how the web they weave around themselves negatively impact the lives and happiness of their own children. So much violence and angst on TV nowadays is excused by the tag of reality and real life issues. Yet, here was a drama that included a touching love story while depicting the reality of the “system” as we knew it then, and as we still know it now, despite the efforts of many true patriots, and it was the rule not the exception.
The Pakistani drama industry is not without hope and without redemption. We still get to see performances and stories that strike a chord in the heart while depicting reality, as the PTV dramas did without making us thoroughly miserable and victims of a headache. Even if advanced production techniques are taken out of the equation, not even the best of today is quite like the sort of thing we were used to as PTV viewers, but there is promise aplenty. The public will still appreciate what it used to, is a fact proven by the popularity of dramas like Alif, Yakeen ka Safar, Inkar, ARY’s Aangan, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, the ongoing Sabaat, and many others. Yes, Meray Paas Tum Ho broke TRP records, but I find it hard to believe that good content will be any less appreciated today than it was in the good old days.
[bs-quote quote=”The Pakistani drama industry is not without hope and without redemption. We still get to see performances and stories that strike a chord in the heart while depicting reality, as the PTV dramas did without making us thoroughly miserable and victims of a headache.” style=”style-17″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Aina Maria Waseem ” author_job=”Freelance Writer & Contributor, Baaghi TV”][/bs-quote]
People want to see PTV restored to its status as the acting university and setter of hallmarks it enjoyed for so long. There is absolutely nothing wrong with good foreign content. In the days when the best dramas were made, the channel also used to broadcast popular English shows and movies. Be it English content, Turkish content, or from anywhere else, it should contribute to the viewership of a channel. At a time when the channel has been reduced to repeating old dramas from other channels, it is highly churlish to complain about a show that is bringing in viewers, but it was not an issue even when the channel WAS doing its best work. Yes great dramas cannot be churned out at the rate at which we get to see unrealistically jealous sisters chasing their brothers-in-law, brainless heroines offering themselves for emotional torture instead of fighting back, lack of respect for elders and compassion for children, children who talk like nasty adults, and the belittling of the sacred institution of marriage, but the national television can set a standard with its work, no matter how less.
The national television can be the academy of all creativity as it used to be, and it can and it should show foreign content, because knowledge and understanding of the world is key to understanding the times we live in.
[bs-quote quote=”People want to see PTV restored to its status as the acting university and setter of hallmarks it enjoyed for so long.” style=”style-17″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Aina Maria Waseem ” author_job=”Freelance Writer & Contributor, Baaghi TV”][/bs-quote]
Looking backward to a better time, and looking forward because it is possible again…
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