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Just hearing two characters riff one-liners at each other offers invaluable insight into the daily lives of the average Pakistani. -Screengrab Every culture has their legends; a collective body of work that honours the genius that birthed it. Chip away the layers of vulgarity, the coarse language, the stereotypical (mis)representation, and you have on your hands a bundle of multi-layered comedies delivering unparalleled entertainment value. So, the question is, how come Punjabi stage shows are not considered as one of the country's biggest assets? Screenshot of a scene from 'Andaaz Apna Apna'.
But the fact of the matter is, these shows still enjoy cult status in select circles, and are slowly spreading to other facets of media. Look though: Cult Pakistan - II: Sound and Vision This is the demographic that's at the heart of our issues; the real people of Pakistan who are the first victims of policies and “wayward floods” — the populous lot of Pakistan, if you will. To please this jaded demographic, stage show thespians present such amazingly intelligent observations about different cultures around the country, that the overall product is quite dazzling and the auditoriums barely go unfilled.
Not only do these performers understand their audience’s needs, they also have tremendous knowledge on varied subjects like geography, sociology, economics and politics — all ready to access at a moment’s notice. Just hearing two characters riff one-liners at each other offers invaluable insight into the daily lives of the average Pakistani. Read on: Is 'Bulbulay' bad for comedy? You may or may not not like these shows, but you cannot deny their mass appeal. Our performers have taken their shows all around the globe to much fanfare. Irfan Khoosat with other actors in 'Hakkay Bakkay'.
They once presented a play that delved into the story of two blind brothers forced into begging (providing an affluent life for their family) and their attraction towards a girl they could obviously never get. The comedy came from their honest portrayal and real emotions catering to both the lighter and darker side of the issue. Such a deep and meaningful story would have been pure tear fodder. Punjabi stage show performers have made numerous attempts to break into mainstream media. The copyright issues and ethics behind the move are questionable at best. However, that venture gave us such hilarious content that it sparked a culture of dubbing films, which made many movies and documentaries easier for us to digest. 'Hakkay Bakkay'
To put it in perspective, British comedians have created entire franchises based on pseudo quiz shows with some zany theme or another, because they found it the perfect showcase for their knowledge and talents.
We have yet to find ours, or maybe we have found it and it just needs polishing. I would like to preface my closing remarks with an outline that poor presentation should not invite a hatred for the product (at least not in all cases). If the stage show format had a less risqué approach, higher-brow content and cleaner production values, it may very well have reached phenomenal levels of global acclaim. The good news is that is still very much possible. Bad news is that it is not an overnight solution. We need to cultivate this industry, help raise its standards such that it flushes out its own impurities without alienating its core fanbase. Once that has been achieved, comedy will become our currency in global media economics and that is a future worth struggling for. From : DAWN September 23, 2014
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