Why not original Pakistani dramas and movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime?

 There was a time when the streets became deserted at night as soon as PTV dramas like 'Waris' started. The dialogues, stories, and actors of such dramas are used to captivate the people. But then there was only one channel in Pakistan and it was the only drama of the day.

   And today there are over a dozen Pakistani entertainment channels with twenty to thirty daily dramas. Then, instead of changing time and television dramas, young people started watching movies and dramas on web platforms (or OTT services) like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Probably this is the reason why the series that Pakistanis searched the most on Google this year was not a Pakistani drama or film but Netflix series 'Squid Game' made in South Korea.

  If a Pakistani turns to Netflix or Amazon Prime, he can find dramas and movies from all over the world. Just desolation in the box of Pakistan. What is there is either old or not original content. There are some good dramas from the Pakistani channel Hum TV on Nickflix but no Pakistani dramas or movies made by Netflix are included in the list. Which begs the question, why is that?

"We do not have freedom like India."

 Some people think that just because dramas and movies are good doesn't mean they're available for streaming on Netflix or Amazon. Well, known director and founder of Hum TV Sultana Siddiqui says that Pakistani dramas have the potential to compete with the content available on Netflix. "Life is a flower on Netflix," she says. This means people love watching Pakistani dramas. I think people will love TV dramas these days if they were on Netflix.

But in Sultana Siddiqui's opinion, there are other reasons why big platforms like Netflix do not create Pakistani content.

"They think we can't make bold plays, but the problem is the restrictions on us. We made 'Udari' on the topic of child sexual abuse which was appreciated all over the world but I received a letter from PEMRA. We talk about competition with Indian dramas and films but we do not have the same freedom.

  Pakistani actress Sarwat Gilani has not only acted in TV dramas but also recently appeared in the lead role in the popular OTT platform Zee Five's popular Pakistani web series 'Sparrows'. She believes that in a web series, actors, directors, and writers have more freedom. "You can talk about any of the topics in the web series that are considered inappropriate to talk about. In addition, the actor has more freedom to act.

In the near future, another series of Sarwat, 'Killer of beautiful beauties' is also going to be released on Zee Five. He says it was too late for Pakistan to realize that its content should also be on platforms like Netflix. "Many Pakistani actors, directors, and others are part of these productions, even though the material is not Pakistani."

"India is far ahead of us in that respect. They started delivering their content at the right time to a place where more and more people around the world could see it. But Pakistan is also working on it now. And Pakistan is building a good web series. "

"Looks like the same drama is playing on every channel."

  For decades, Anwar Maqsood presented the harsh political and social realities to the people with a touch of humor and received much acclaim. But his pen has been silent for a long time now. He says in his traditional way, "There are so many plays happening in the country, so why do I need to write plays." Anwar Maqsood believes that the reason for the declining quality of drama in Pakistan is the proliferation of channels and dramas.

"Where will so many actors come from for so many dramas? When you switch channels, it looks like the same drama is playing on the channel. The actors are all the same, even the bedsheets sold on the beds are often the same.

  According to Anwar Maqsood, many actors and directors in Pakistan are doing a great job. The problem is with good scripts. Have a good dialogue. Nowadays, the conversation that takes place on mobile at home, is written in the script as a dialogue in the script.

He says that drama reflects the situation in your country. "Just as the situation is in our country, so is the situation in our dramas."