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Pakistani comedians make their way into mainstream media

A number of acclaimed Pakistani comedians who used to perform comedies and dramas on stage are now regularly seen on various TV news channels, discussing crucial issues in their particular hilarious style.

Almost all the mainstream Pakistani news channels including Geo News, Express News, Dunya News and Aaj TV have launched special talk shows featuring prominent figures from the Pakistani theatre stage.

These comedians now review almost everything from politics to society, current affairs and issues of national as well as international concern. This is something the Pakistani audience had never witnessed before.

Thanks to their witty, subtle, sarcastic and humorous remarks the comedians leave no stone unturned to expose the shortcomings of the government, politicians, and Pakistani society at large and their programmes are becoming increasingly popular among viewers.

Acclaimed stage/ TV comedian and actor Sohail Ahmed in Dunya News’ show Hasb-e-Hall

Political and social satire

This phenomenon started when in 2009 one of Pakistan’s growing TV news channel Dunya News launched a programme called “Hasb-e-Haal” and introduced renowned comedian and actor Mr Sohail Ahmed as commentator. Mr Sohail goes by the name of Azizi in the programme and is joined by noted journalist Mr Junaid Saleem and TV actress Ms Najia. The trio discusses national and international issues with Azizi as the central character of the show.

In this video besides other topics Azizi talks about the case of US citizen Raymond Davis who was charged with the killing of two Pakistani youth in the city of Lahore in January 2011.

With “Hasb-e-Haal” proving a great success, other Pakistani news channels followed suit and launched similar talk shows engaging other noted figures from the Pakistani theatre stage.
In the programme “Khabarnak”, Geo News features the living legend of Pakistani comedy theatre Mr Amanullah Khan as well as another famous comedian Mr Sakhawat Naz. Other comedians also frequently appear in the show.

The celebrated comedian Amanullah Khan (Right, with hat) and Sakhawat Naz in Geo News programme Khabarnak

“Khabarnak” is hosted by renowned columnist Mr Aftab Iqbal and differs from Hasb-e-Haal in the fact that it welcomes an audience and guests from different walks of life on a frequent basis. This has given an altogether different touch to the programme.

Nonetheless “Khabarnak” is also a political and social satire like “Hasb-e-Hall” and a very popular show among Pakistanis. 

Mr Khalid Abbas Dar, another renowned stage and TV celebrity has been appearing in Express News’ “Darling” show. This programme also has a different format as Mr Dar is the only host of the show and discusses issues of national and international concerns in a comic but subtle manner.

Renowned stage/ TV actor Khalid Abbas Dar in Express News’ programme “Darling”

“Darling” is popular especially for Mr Dar’s Jugni song and his frequent parodies mocking top leaders, politicians and other noted figures.

Recently Aaj TV launched “3 Idiots”, a programme featuring comedian Mr Iftikhar Thakur, stage/TV artist Mr Waseem Abbass and poet/ writer Mr Wasi Shah. The title of the programme is inspired by the Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots”. It is pertinent to mention here that this successful Indian comedy film has been equally popular in Pakistan because of its thought-provoking theme: “Change the education system”.

Relief amid frequent news of terrorism

The shows hosted by renowned Pakistani comedians on TV News channels have been providing some relief to the people of Pakistan who sadly have to hear terrorism and violence related news most of the time. It is generally believed that this particular aspect of respite from hard life in Pakistan is the reason behind the growing number of viewers and the increasing popularity of such shows.

Two great comedians Amanullah (left) and Sohail Ahmed in a stage comedy

The parodies of famous Indian songs and noted national and international figures which are integral parts of most of these shows also explain the growing success of these shows. The parody of the Indian hit song “Sheila Ki Jawani” by Mr Dar discussing prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Raza Gilani’s government has been quite popular.

Parody of the Indian hit song “Sheila Ki Jawani” by Mr Dar

It is also important to mention here that parallel to programmes hosted by comedians, there are also other comedy programmes such as Hum Sab Umeed Say Hain and Geo News’ recently launched “BNN” (Banana News Network) or Aaj TV’s 4 Man Show are equally popular among the people of Pakistan.

A significant aspect of these latter shows is based on the parody of renowned Pakistani anchorpersons and journalists and mock celebrity interviews. The versatile artists mimic these media personalities and expose the shortcomings of politicians.

Social networks and blogs

The popularity of these shows can be judged from the fact that there are dozens of blogs and websites offering recordings of these programmes. Pakistani people also share these programmes with friends and family members on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
There are so many pages of these talk shows on Facebook that it is almost impossible to find their Facebook official pages. This aspect also highlights the level of popularity of the Pakistani comedians’ TV shows.

A brief note on the Pakistani theatre stage

The theatre stage in Pakistan is mostly comic and it is now rapidly becoming notorious for its vulgar dance segments and other obscene content.

This development is causing the rapid decline in popularity of the once popular comedy theatre. The government takes action on a frequent basis to curb the growing tendency of obscene content in theatre performances.

The prominent and increasing presence of Pakistani comedians in the country’s media is evidence of their changing priorities in the wake of the deteriorating quality of the theatre stage. 

 

Tags: abbas dar, aftab iqbal, amanullah khan, comedian, commentator, dars jugni, facebook, iftikhar thakur, junaid saleem, khalid abbas dar, lahore, media personalities, pakistan, raymond davis, raza gilanis, sakhawat naz, satire, sheila ki jawani, sohail ahmed, stage, stagetv artist, talk shows, theatre stage, tv, tv comedian and actor, twitter, waseem abbass,

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