Not all that is been dished out in the name of catering to niche audience by different Urdu channels is being liked and appreciated by everyone. Some pertinent points raised by playwright Danish Iqbal make sense and definitely merit the attention of those at the helm of affairs.
To begin with he states that Urdu is a not a language but a “particular culture” and is “different from what is spoken by the mullahs. What these channels provide is devoid of the culture and there is no connect between them and those who speak the language and the culture.”
How does it define it? “It means refinement in tastes, nuances, poetry, reading and eclectic tastes and nature –– missing from the software provided by all these channels. On the contrary the poor acting and production is insulting to the taste of discerning viewers. They lack aesthetic sense.” He recalls the case of his friend, a die-hard Urdu fan, who laments that in the absence of any worthwhile language content he is forced to watch Discoveryand National Geographic.
Danish does not agree with the identification of Urdu with Muslims and their faith. He gives the example of a well known Urdu writer who happens to be Hindu, who had 30 versions of the Mahabharata and around 40 of the Ramayana — all in Urdu in his library. “Tom Alter knows the Bible in Urdu, and the devotional songs of Sikh ragis have several Urdu words in them.” He feels this is the specific reason for the alienation of the language in our country even though it was born here. “My heart goes out to the non-Muslim Urdu exponents. They are neither accepted by Muslims nor by their own community.”
Then what needs to be highlighted? “The software should depict an ethos and universalism and shun all types of parochialism and divisions. The poets, novelists and creative persons who are die-hard liberals do not find space in the present-day shows which they deserve and should. These should also focus on the country’s achievements in different spheres of life, social, economic, literature besides showing places of historical interests, wildlife, crafts and arts of the nation. The need is to shape the taste of the public and not cater to popular ones.”
One can’t resist asking him the reason for the popularity of Pakistani serials, especially the ones beamed by Zindagi.
“They are better in terms of aesthetics, camera angles, writing, creative level, costumes, even though suffering from certain drawbacks. Indian viewers are able identify with and relate to their sophistication and nuances.”
