Every year 370 out of 372 Pakistani dramas are made in Karachi: Shaan Shahid

[Kolachi Punjabi]

I came across Shaan's interview on another well known Pakistani forum, I was surprised by his claim that 370 out of 372 Pakistani dramas every year are made in Karachi (produced by Karachi-based studios).

"To start with, the link between Karachi and Lahore is very important. Unfortunately there is an intellectual and artwise divide between these two great cities. We need to create harmony between these two centers of excellence. We have a situation where we have 372 new TV dramas made a year out of which 370 are made in Karachi and two are made in Lahore! We need to plug this type of difference and rise above regionalism. This is an important aspect apart from that we have the talent and the skills so there is really nothing to worry about."

 

[salarsikander]

I came across Shaan's interview on another well known Pakistani forum, I was surprised by his claim that 370 out of 372 Pakistani dramas every year are made in Karachi (produced by Karachi-based studios).

"To start with, the link between Karachi and Lahore is very important. Unfortunately there is an intellectual and artwise divide between these two great cities. We need to create harmony between these two centers of excellence. We have a situation where we have 372 new TV dramas made a year out of which 370 are made in Karachi and two are made in Lahore! We need to plug this type of difference and rise above regionalism. This is an important aspect apart from that we have the talent and the skills so there is really nothing to worry about."

Hi,
doesnt make any difference be it Lahore or Karachi for tht amtter as long as quality stuff is being made in Pakistan, thats what matters

 

[waleed3601]

Quite a tall claim are there any stats to back it up? Though it does seem as if every drama is shot in Karachi.
Last year at my uncle's apt in Bath Island Clifton I was sipping tea in the balcony (5th floor I guess?) and to my right there was a drama shoot going on and to my left another drama shoot was going on lol that was quite the sight.
And if you observe carefully in the driving scenes one can see it's almost always Karachi.
But still the 370 out of 372 figure sounds a bit too exaggerated. It cant possibly be that much?
Can any user with drama knowledge shed some light here?

 

[Kabira]

Hi,
doesnt make any difference be it Lahore or Karachi for tht amtter as long as quality stuff is being made in Pakistan, thats what matters

Ofcourse it make difference. Most of talent is from Lahore and other areas of Pakistan and now they have to move to Karachi. Kya yeh khula tazad nai?

 

[salarsikander]

Ofcourse it make difference. Most of talent is from Lahore and other areas of Pakistan and now they have to move to Karachi. Kya yeh khula tazad nai?

Hi,
I am from karachi too, karachi is city of Pakistan, Right?

 

[Winchester]

Ofcourse it make difference. Most of talent is from Lahore and other areas of Pakistan and now they have to move to Karachi. Kya yeh khula tazad nai?

These are mostly private productions.
Its not like some one is subsidizing them to move to Karachi !
Plus do remember what happened to the Lahore film industry of which Shaan was a proud part of !

 

[Donatello]

Obviously, they will make the dramas where they have the infrastructure and support, like producers, cinematographers, post processing studios etc.
Secondly, most TV channels have their headquarters in Karachi.

It's just like Mumbai makes the most films in India....why? because they have talent, studios, sets etc

 

[Kabira]

These are mostly private productions.
Its not like some one is subsidizing them to move to Karachi !
Plus do remember what happened to the Lahore film industry of which Shaan was a proud part of !

Well Lahore film industry have revived Pak movie industry, remember Yalghar, waar etc are all lahore based movies basically. While movies coming out of karachi look like bollywood copy cats. I don't see much difference in mujras and item songs.

Obviously, they will make the dramas where they have the infrastructure and support, like producers, cinematographers, post processing studios etc.
Secondly, most TV channels have their headquarters in Karachi.

It's just like Mumbai makes the most films in India....why? because they have talent, studios, sets etc

Talent is from outside Karachi, but I was reading Karachi upgraded production/technology while Lahore drama industry stayed where it was. Not many years ago Lahore used to produce 50% of dramas, now all these people have moved to Karachi. Bit like movie industry before waar, so it will take time to bring back at least half of drama production back to Lahore.

 

[Kolachi Punjabi]

Quite a tall claim are there any stats to back it up? Though it does seem as if every drama is shot in Karachi.
Last year at my uncle's apt in Bath Island Clifton I was sipping tea in the balcony (5th floor I guess?) and to my right there was a drama shoot going on and to my left another drama shoot was going on lol that was quite the sight.
And if you observe carefully in the driving scenes one can see it's almost always Karachi.
But still the 370 out of 372 figure sounds a bit too exaggerated. It cant possibly be that much?
Can any user with drama knowledge shed some light here?

It's not exaggerated; it's always been that way.

Karachi made the dramas and Lahore made the movies since the times of PTV and it isn't about shooting in karachi; it's about where the studios are based; many dramas are filmed in northern Pakistan and the stories may be based around different ethnic groups but the production houses are based in karachi.

Well Lahore film industry have revived Pak movie industry, remember Yalghar, waar etc are all lahore based movies basically. While movies coming out of karachi look like bollywood copy cats. I don't see much difference in mujras and item songs.



Talent is from outside Karachi, but I was reading Karachi upgraded production/technology while Lahore drama industry stayed where it was. Not many years ago Lahore used to produce 50% of dramas, now all these people have moved to Karachi. Bit like movie industry before waar, so it will take time to bring back at least half of drama production back to Lahore.

it's not just tech but also money cause big channels and bussinesmen are in karachi and also some very prominent urdu writers live in karachi and the talent isn't all from punjab, loads of karachiites like Behroze Sabzwari,Mahira Khan,Mansha Pasha,Fahad Mustafa and Shehryar Siddique are all karachiites

 

[salarsikander]

Talent is from outside Karachi, but I was reading Karachi upgraded production/technology while Lahore drama industry stayed where it was. Not many years ago Lahore used to produce 50% of dramas, now all these people have moved to Karachi. Bit like movie industry before waar, so it will take time to bring back at least half of drama production back to Lahore

Hi,
So where is the talent going, out of Pakistan ? whats with tazaad in here, All the tzaad i see is in your post

 

[Khalid Newazi]

PDF = Pakistan Drama Forum.

 

[Kabira]

It's not exaggerated; it's always been that way.

Karachi made the dramas and Lahore made the movies since the times of PTV and it isn't about shooting in karachi; it's about where the studios are based; many dramas are filmed in northern Pakistan and the stories may be based around different ethnic groups but the production houses are based in karachi.


it's not just tech but also money cause big channels and bussinesmen are in karachi and also some very prominent urdu writers live in karachi and the talent isn't all from punjab, loads of karachiites like Behroze Sabzwari,Mahira Khan,Mansha Pasha,Fahad Mustafa and Shehryar Siddique are all karachiites

Only 7-8 years back Lahore used to make 50% of dramas. read this

“Around five years ago, 50 per cent of the production work was being done in Lahore. Now everyone, from actors to directors, is shifting to Karachi,” states Ijaz Bajwa, a Lahore-based producer. “[Karachi] has become a hub of television projects and most of the jobs have shifted there and the quality is also improving due to the competition.”

However, this transition has resulted in a decrease of quality in Lahore. Additionally, for producers who work in Karachi, the technical aspects of production have improved to cater to the growing number of shows. Bajwa states that things such as better lighting, cameras and technicians had meant significant difference in quality compared to Lahore.

Drama production: From the city of kites to the city of lights - The Express Tribune

Writers don't need to move anywhere, currently most famous drama writer is from Sialkot.

 

[salarsikander]

Only 7-8 years back Lahore used to make 50% of dramas. read this

“Around five years ago, 50 per cent of the production work was being done in Lahore. Now everyone, from actors to directors, is shifting to Karachi,” states Ijaz Bajwa, a Lahore-based producer. “[Karachi] has become a hub of television projects and most of the jobs have shifted there and the quality is also improving due to the competition.”

However, this transition has resulted in a decrease of quality in Lahore. Additionally, for producers who work in Karachi, the technical aspects of production have improved to cater to the growing number of shows. Bajwa states that things such as better lighting, cameras and technicians had meant significant difference in quality compared to Lahore.

Drama production: From the city of kites to the city of lights - The Express Tribune

Writers don't need to move anywhere, currently most famous drama writer is from Sialkot.

Hi,
The change is natural, At least it is not classic case of brain drain, so regardless of that, talent and investment stays in Pakistan, Please for once start thinking as a pakistani and not like some regional ethnicity

 

[Kabira]

Hi,
The change is natural, At least it is not classic case of brain drain, so regardless of that, talent and investment stays in Pakistan, Please for once start to think as pakistani and not like some regional ethnicity

This is nice thread and I will save it for future. Even if toilet is being build in punjab then karachites cry why not build it in Karachi first?

 

[Kolachi Punjabi]

Only 7-8 years back Lahore used to make 50% of dramas. read this

“Around five years ago, 50 per cent of the production work was being done in Lahore. Now everyone, from actors to directors, is shifting to Karachi,” states Ijaz Bajwa, a Lahore-based producer. “[Karachi] has become a hub of television projects and most of the jobs have shifted there and the quality is also improving due to the competition.”

However, this transition has resulted in a decrease of quality in Lahore. Additionally, for producers who work in Karachi, the technical aspects of production have improved to cater to the growing number of shows. Bajwa states that things such as better lighting, cameras and technicians had meant significant difference in quality compared to Lahore.

Drama production: From the city of kites to the city of lights - The Express Tribune

Writers don't need to move anywhere, currently most famous drama writer is from Sialkot.

yeah but still doesn't take away that there's a lot of local talent in karachi and some of the most famous faces in the drama/film industry are from karachi

Also this shift to Karachi has coincided with a boom in the drama industry